Microsoft Resignation: VP of Energy Brian Janous Set to Exit

One of Microsoft's top renewable energy, sustainability and green IT experts has resigned from the technology giant's cloud data center business. The departure involves Microsoft VP of Energy Brian Janous, according to Business Insider.

Janous is leaving Microsoft to "pursue his next opportunity," according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider. The name of his next employer was not disclosed. His departure ends an 11-year tenure at the software giant -- which involved various energy strategy, renewable power and utility roles, according to Janous's LinkedIn bio.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the Cloud Operations and Innovation leadership continues to evolve, and the overall team continues to grow. But the company did not mention a specific successor for Janous.

Microsoft's overall sustainability strategy is quite ambitious. The cloud computing, software and device giant expects to be carbon negative by 2030.

The effort includes:

• Internal, companywide efforts led by Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa;
• Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability products and services;
• Sustainability partnerships with global systems integrators, ISVs and consultancies;
• Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, which includes recent investments in BlocPower, Circular Services, and ESG software startup Novata.

Cloud Services: Renewable Energy and Sustainability Moves

Meanwhile, rival data center and cloud service providers are marching forward with various sustainability strategies.

Cloud-scale players such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud have made major sustainability commitments. Regional data center providers are also making moves. A few examples:

• United States: Climate Adaptive Infrastructure (CAI), through a relationship with DigitalBridge, plans to invest up to $300 million in sustainable digital infrastructure. The first investment involves Switch, a 100% renewable-powered data center provider.
• Latin America: Aligned Data Centers in May 2023 completed the acquisition of Latin America data center provider ODATA. Roughly 85% to 90% of the energy consumed by ODATA is renewable. The M&A deal was first announced in December 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.
• Africa: Raxio Data Centres has lined up a US$170 million debt facility to further expand operations across Africa. The twist? The debt facility -- involving Roha Group, Meridiam, Proparco and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund -- is tied to various sustainability and ESG (environmental, social & governance) goals.
• Brazil: Scala Data Centers has achieved 100% Scope 3, as recommended by the GHG Protocol.
• Europe: AQ Compute and CBRE in 2022 partnered as part of a push to make AQ Compute a "pan-European leader in providing global clients with data centre services." All of the AQ Compute data centers are expected to leverage 100 % renewable energy, the companies said.
• Europe: Alces Flight and EcoDataCenter partnered to provide customers with "best-of-breed managed services and sustainable computing for their private research clouds," the two companies said.

Microsoft Inspire 2023: More Sustainability and Green IT Partnerships?

So what's next? Keep an eye on Microsoft Inspire 2023, a virtual partner conference that runs July 18-19. We'll be listening for green IT and sustainability partner updates at the show.