Our Sustainability Commitment & Plan
Learning from each other is good for the planet
At Microsoft, we share our sustainability story–the why, what, and how of what we do–in the hope it goes some small way in supporting you to achieve your sustainability goals. We believe that a shared journey for a shared future lies in learning from each other’s commitments, plans, tools, and resources.
Our areas of focus
We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and supporting you in achieving your sustainability goals. The areas we can have the most impact are carbon, ecosystems, water, and waste.
Carbon
We have been carbon neutral across the world since 2012 and are committed to being carbon negative by 2030. Our goal is to promote sustainable development and low-carbon business practices globally through our sustainable business practices and cloud-enabled technologies.
Ecosystems
We are taking responsibility for our land footprint by committing to permanently protect and restore more land than we use by 2025. By building the tools and services to monitor and model impacts from climate or human behaviour, we can promote better understanding of our ecosystems.
Water
We are creating and employing tools and services to help address the world’s water challenges, including scarcity, pollution, ocean health and dramatically reducing the amount of water used at datacentres. Our work enables organisations big and small to make smarter decisions about water.
Waste
We think every device should be made with an emphasis on sustainability and aim to continually improve all our products. At our facilities, we eliminate waste through material reuse, recycling, and reducing material source consumption. All waste is treated with environmentally responsible methods.
Practical Resources
Good for your business, good for the planet
Get started, do more, partner, and innovate. Discover how Microsoft can support your sustainability journey.
Four simple steps to unlock your net-zero carbon future
Understand-Evaluate-Incentivise-Enlist: these four steps can help to reduce your carbon footprint over time.
The Microsoft Sustainability Calculator is coming soon
A practical tool to better understand your total Microsoft cloud-based carbon emissions to help reduce your environmental impact.
A decade of progress
We have learned so much over the last 10 years about how to commit to a planet-sized challenge. Significant investments have improved our sustainability and reduced our historic carbon footprint. In 2020 we stated our belief that those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so. That is why we announced an ambitious goal and new plan to reduce and ultimately remove Microsoft’s carbon footprint. This timeline highlights our key sustainability milestones and commitments.
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Carbon negative by 2030
Microsoft has announced an aggressive program to cut direct and supply chain carbon emissions by more than half by 2030.
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Historical emission removal by 2050
By 2050, Microsoft will eliminate its historical carbon footprint by removing all of the carbon the company has emitted since its 1975 founding.
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A $1 billion innovation fund
Our new Climate Innovation Fund will accelerate the global development of carbon reduction, capture, and removal technologies.
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Emission reductions of 15.6 million tons
We cut energy consumption by 10 percent across the 125 buildings on Microsoft’s main campus, reducing carbon emissions as a result.
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1.6 renewable gigawatts
We made direct purchases of more than 1.6 gigawatts of new wind and solar energy.
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10 million kilograms recycled
Microsoft recycles nearly 10 million kilograms of consumer e-waste each year.
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Commitment to greener datacenters
Microsoft set a goal to reach 60 percent renewable energy by 2020.
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Emission reductions of 9.5 million tons
We cut energy consumption by 10 percent across the 125 buildings on Microsoft’s main campus, reducing carbon emissions as a result.
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Zero waste certification
The US Zero Waste Business Council awarded Zero Waste Certification at the Gold Level to Microsoft headquarters.
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First renewable energy purchase agreement
We announced our first renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) for wind energy and committed to a 20-year agreement.
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Internal smart buildings solution
Our 2013 smart building complex used new Azure IoT technology.
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Carbon offset projects across the globe
We announced a series of investments in 15 carbon offset projects in a wide range of countries all over the world.
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Carbon emissions reduced by 30 percent
New business practices and cloud-enabled technologies lowered our carbon emissions globally.
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Internal Carbon Fee
An internal carbon fee implemented in 2012, which makes make our business divisions financially responsible for reducing their carbon emissions.
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Smart buildings pilot
We began using software to make buildings more energy efficient.
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Annual green energy purchases of 1.1 billion kWh
The US Environmental Protection Agency recognized Microsoft as the nation’s third-largest buyer of green power in 2012.
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