Our Microsoft sustainability journey

We’re on a mission to build the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) capacity that the world will need to help prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Reducing the carbon intensity of our operations is a core pillar of our approach to being a carbon negative company. We procure low-carbon and virtual products seeking to support market development of yet to abate sectors and bringing low-carbon products and services to scale.

The ability of the technology sector to meet net zero targets is dependent on our collective ability to procure carbon-free electricity and decarbonize our supply chains. Microsoft continues to build and scale carbon-free electricity through our procurement of renewable energy and investing to bring more carbon-free electricity onto the grids where we operate.

We’re innovating with thermal energy as part of our Redmond Campus Modernization project with the Thermal Energy Center.

A key component of Microsoft’s water positive work is to replenish more water than we consume. As our replenishment program evolves, we’re sharing our learnings to support others in their journey.

Getting to water positive goes beyond reducing water-use intensity and replenishing water sources; it’s also about providing people across the globe with access to water and sanitation services, engaging in public policy, and driving innovation.

The Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability water data model (preview) helps customers standardize water data for water sustainability use cases, providing a single source of truth through multi-source data acquisition.

Our Silicon Valley campus is pursuing Net-Zero water certification and is on track to be one of first tech campuses to secure this certification.

At Microsoft, we’re building Circular Centers at our campuses to help improve our own materials management at all stages of our devices’ and products’ lifecycles.

Microsoft invests in this space and the findings will aid in our product design and plans for expanding device repair options for our customers that are safe, effective, and sustainable. Our latest Surface products feature a host of replaceable components.

Microsoft participated in the development of a cross-industry white paper on stretch wrap alternatives.

Through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Western Big Game Migration Program, we invested in projects in the American West that are vital for preserving the migration corridors of endangered and at-risk species, including mountain lions, grizzly bears, and Canada lynx.

As part of our Redmond campus modernization project, we’re including protections for local ecosystems such as green roofs, open space restoration, and heat island reduction. This is also the first Microsoft location in our portfolio to be certified Salmon Safe.

We deployed our first on-campus Microsoft Premonition device to pilot ecological monitoring. Premonition is a biological weather station that lures, monitors, and samples invertebrate species to easily track ecosystem services, biodiversity, and disease transmission. This will allow us to measure the impact of ecological enhancement efforts over time.

The world needs robust carbon data and accounting—the body of rules that govern tracking and reporting of carbon emissions. At Microsoft, we’re working to evolve our internal emissions accounting approach, focusing on achieving greater accuracy, consistency, completeness, transparency, and alignment with real-world emissions impact.

The world needs to develop a pioneering carbon dioxide removal (CDR) market to be ready for deep decarbonization this century. Read Microsoft’s observations on what is ready and what is missing based on three years of diving deep on CDR.

Over 3,500 companies globally have issued climate pledges – however, many lack a workforce with the necessary skills to turn these pledges to progress. Our report shows the urgent need to develop a new level of sustainability skills and fluency – and how we aim to help support the transformation.