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.

June 2024 Updates: Microsoft Sustainability Milestones

• AI and Energy Efficiency: Microsoft invested in Touchcast, a generative AI and cloud caching startup that improves AI's energy efficiency, Bloomberg reported. Early Touchcast partners include global IT consulting firm Accenture.
• Partnership - AI and Energy Software: A Hitachi-Microsoft partnership will extend beyond AI to include sustainability projects, the two companies said. Hitachi will train more than 50,000 GenAI Professionals on such platforms as GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service. The companies also will help customers with their energy transitions -- from energy generation to transmission, distribution and customer delivery. That focus involves Hitachi Energy's Enterprise Software Solutions platform. Plus, Hitachi and Microsoft will work toward zero carbon initiatives -- starting with a data center project in Europe -- though timing and specific details of that project were not disclosed.
• Azure Cloud Layoffs: Microsoft layoffs will impact hundreds of Azure cloud services employees, Business Insider reported. We don't know if the job cuts involve Microsoft's SaaS-based sustainability software applications. The layoffs surfaced within days of job cuts at rival Google Cloud.
• Datacenter Commitments: Microsoft announced a Datacenter Community Pledge -- which calls for the company to "design and operate our datacenters to support society’s climate goals and become carbon negative, water positive and zero waste before 2030," Corporate VP Noelle Walsh (pictured above) wrote in a blog.

May 2024 Updates: Sustainability Initiatives

• Conference Recap: At Microsoft Build 2024, the company showcased various Cloud for Sustainability software enhancements.
• AI PCs: Microsoft, Qualcomm and multiple PC partners unveiled Copilot+ PCs -- which are designed to run "AI-intensive" applications. The PCs feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Series processor -- known as a neural processing unit (NPU).
• Supply Chain Partners, Scope 3 and Renewable Energy: Microsoft needs partner help to achieve its net-zero goals, the company said.
• India - AI and Sustainability: While 86% of organizations in India recognize the significance of sustainability in shaping business strategies, only 16% have prioritized sustainability goals and built them on real facts and data, a Kyndryl and Microsoft survey found. Moreover: 79% of organizations use AI to monitor energy usage and emissions, but only 20% use it to predict future energy consumption, 26% for predicting and preparing for natural disasters, 26% to recognize inefficiencies and 28% to identify risks.
• Carbon Removal Agreement: Microsoft has signed a massive carbon removal agreement with Stockholm Exergi. The 10-year deal kicks off in 2028.
• Power Purchase Agreement: Microsoft has signed a global power purchase agreement (PPA) with Brookfield Asset Management. The initial engagement involves renewable energy supplies in the United States and Europe. The relationship can potentially expand to involve additional capability across the U.S. and Europe, and potential expansion into Asia-Pacific, India and Latin America. Microsoft is striving to achieve "100% of our electricity consumption, 100% of the time, matched by zero carbon energy purchases by 2030," the company reiterated.

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.

See next page for earlier updates...