What is Microsoft's Sustainability Strategy, And How Are Channel Partners Involved?
December 10, 2025 by Joe Panettieri
Here are more updates....
July 2024 Updates
Multiple updates...
Earnings - AI Cloud Trends: Microsoft's fiscal Q4 results beat Wall Street's expectations, but Azure cloud revenue growth was slightly weaker than expected. Total cloud-related revenue was $36.8 billion for the period, below Microsoft's previous $36.84 billion estimate, SeekingAlpha reported. Azure growth included 8 points from AI services -- where "demand remained higher than our available capacity," Microsoft said.
Funding:Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund invested in Cyclic Materials, a startup that improves hard drive recycling processes. Target customers include IT asset disposition (ITAD) companies, data center operators and cloud service providers. A financial figure and business valuation were not disclosed.
Partners of the Year: The 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards honored dozens of business and technology partners worldwide -- including a handful of partners focused on sustainability, carbon reduction and net-zero business strategies. On the global front, Microsoft named EY United States as its Sustainability Changemaker of the year. Additional honorees included BDO Digital, Fellowmind Company BC, and Kin+Carta.
June 2024 Updates: Microsoft Sustainability Milestones
Multiple updates...
Integration - Microsoft Teams: Keep an eye on Viro for Microsoft Teams, which allows "every team member to contribute to their company’s sustainability goals." Some information about Viro for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is already published...
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Hi Chris: Thanks for your readership, and your questions. We cover the Amazon and AWS sustainability strategy here. Generally speaking, Microsoft's net-zero timeline (deadline: 2030) is more aggressive than that of Amazon (deadline: 2040).
We continue to update our Microsoft- and Amazon-focused coverage.
The most critical and challenging facet highlighted here is the "Last Mile of Decarbonization." As the article notes, this is where ambition meets the hardest technological and economic realities. For a company of Microsoft's size and energy appetite—especially with the AI boom—replacing that final ~15-20% of fossil-based energy with 24/7 reliable, clean power will be the true test. It will require breakthroughs in grid flexibility, long-duration energy storage, and next-gen nuclear or geothermal that don't yet exist at scale.
This raises a key question about responsibility: Is the role of a tech giant like Microsoft simply to purchase its way to net zero, or to actively invest in and de-risk those breakthrough technologies for the broader market? Their partnership with Constellation on hourly carbon-free energy matching is a promising step toward the latter, as it helps drive innovation in the grid itself.
Their progress is a powerful tailwind for the entire ecosystem, but the final stretch of this marathon will define their legacy. It's a case study we should all be watching closely.
Sustainable IT news & strategies. We empower MSPs, IT service providers, and channel partners to deliver green solutions that help Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) meet net-zero goals.
How does Microsoft's sustainability strategy and netzero timeline compare to Amazon? Can you share any comparative data?????
Hi Chris: Thanks for your readership, and your questions. We cover the Amazon and AWS sustainability strategy here. Generally speaking, Microsoft's net-zero timeline (deadline: 2030) is more aggressive than that of Amazon (deadline: 2040).
We continue to update our Microsoft- and Amazon-focused coverage.
Best,
-jp
Editorial Director
Sustainable Tech Partner
The most critical and challenging facet highlighted here is the "Last Mile of Decarbonization." As the article notes, this is where ambition meets the hardest technological and economic realities. For a company of Microsoft's size and energy appetite—especially with the AI boom—replacing that final ~15-20% of fossil-based energy with 24/7 reliable, clean power will be the true test. It will require breakthroughs in grid flexibility, long-duration energy storage, and next-gen nuclear or geothermal that don't yet exist at scale.
This raises a key question about responsibility: Is the role of a tech giant like Microsoft simply to purchase its way to net zero, or to actively invest in and de-risk those breakthrough technologies for the broader market? Their partnership with Constellation on hourly carbon-free energy matching is a promising step toward the latter, as it helps drive innovation in the grid itself.
Their progress is a powerful tailwind for the entire ecosystem, but the final stretch of this marathon will define their legacy. It's a case study we should all be watching closely.