Microsoft Sustainability News, Milestones, Partnerships and Net Zero Timeline

Microsoft expects to be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 the company will remove from the environment all the carbon the firm has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975, the cloud and software giant said in 2020.

Melanie Nakagawa (pictured above), chief sustainability officer, is leading those efforts. But the software company's sustainability goals don't end there.

Microsoft, led by CEO Satya Nadella, also develops cloud-based sustainability software tools for partners and customers to leverage. And the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund continues to invest in sustainable startups.

The timeline below, updated regularly, further explains Microsoft's sustainability strategy, key milestones, customer engagements, partner integrations and more. Check back regularly for updates.

April 2024 Updates: Microsoft Sustainability Initiatives

• Supply Chain Management Software: The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management platform is previewing a Traceability feature. The capability allows users to track the "achievement of sustainability and ethical supply chain goals," according to Microsoft Corporate VP Bryan Goode.
• Hannover Messe 2024 Conference: Microsoft is on-hand at the Hannover Messe 2024 conference to evangelize cloud partnerships that involve industrial automation, AI and sustainability.
• AI Software: Microsoft Sustainability Manager is gaining an AI-powered capability called what-if analysis. The capability, now in preview, enables customers to "forecast the impact of business practice changes on your overall emissions footprint so you can implement more informed carbon reduction strategies."
• Carbon Capture Partnership: CO280 and Aker Carbon Capture have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with Microsoft to "explore opportunities for scaling the full physical and digital value chain of carbon removal in the US and Canada," the companies said. Much of the effort involves North America's pulp and paper industry -- which represents a carbon removal opportunity of up to 130 million tons per year, the companies said.
• Conference Previews: When the Microsoft Build 2024 conference arrives in May, the developer event will feature multiple AI and cloud sessions focused on sustainability. Also of note: Microsoft Ignite 2024 -- a customer and partner event -- is scheduled for November in Chicago.
• Sustainable by Design: The technology giant is emphasizing a sustainable by design strategy that involves three priorities, according to a blog from Microsoft's CSO. The focus areas include: (1) Optimizing datacenter energy and water efficiency; (2) advancing low-carbon materials, creating global markets to help advance sustainability across industries; and (3) improving the energy efficiency of AI and cloud services.
• Data Center Project: Microsoft and OpenAI have been in talks to invest as much as $100 billion in an AI supercomputer project, The Information reported.

March 2024 Updates

• SMB Carbon Accounting Software: Green Project Technologies, a carbon accounting platform for small businesses, is now available via Microsoft AppSource, the two companies said.

February 2024 Updates

• AI for Microsoft Sustainability Manager: Microsoft, as expected, unveiled multiple Cloud for Sustainability updates and code previews -- including AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities that involve Copilot in Microsoft Sustainability Manager.

January 2024 Updates

Multiple updates...

• Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot Capabilities: Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability will gain generative AI capabilities for ESG reporting as part of a software update that's expected sometime between April 2024 and September 2024, the company disclosed.
• Data Centers and Nuclear Power: Microsoft has hired Erin Henderson as director of nuclear development acceleration. Also, the company hired Archana “Archie” Manoharan as its director of nuclear technologies. The hires involve Microsoft's continued transition to sustainable energy.
• Data Centers and Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Caterpillar collaborated with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems to demonstrate the viability of large-format hydrogen fuel cells to provide reliable, sustainable backup power for data centers, Dallas Innovates reported.
• Funding - Green Steel: H2 Green Steel has raised 4.75 billion euros ($5.17 billion) in new funding for its planned flagship plant in the northern Swedish town of Boden, which will be the world's first large-scale green steel project, Reuters reported. New shareholders include the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.
• Funding - Decarbonization Startup: Dimensional Energy has raised $20 million in series A funding. Envisioning Partners led the round. Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund also chipped in.
• Ecosystem Reporting Guide: Planet, Microsoft and the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont have written a white paper guide to help navigate new sustainability reporting demands around nature-related impacts and dependencies. The white paper is called Accelerating Biodiversity and Ecosystem Reporting.
• IoT and Sustainability: Microsoft Executive VP Judson Althoff, in an interview with Reuters, explained how a new Vodafone partnership will empower customers to pursue their sustainability goals.
• Generative AI and Sustainability: Microsoft has unveiled Splitwize, a technology that improves how GPUs and the Azure cloud process large language models (LLMs). In theory, Splitwize could play an important role in cloud services energy efficiency and IT sustainability strategies.
• Generative AI for Telecom Services: Microsoft is pitching generative AI business benefits to the telecom industry, but the software provider failed to mention potential sustainability benefits in a lengthy generative AI for telecom article.

See next page for earlier updates...