Microsoft has adopted greater than 80 measures to counteract a 29.1 p.c improve in its greenhouse fuel emissions since 2020, predominantly pushed by its new knowledge facilities.
The corporate‘s Scope 1 and a pair of emissions — these carefully tied to the corporate’s operations, manufacturing and use of energy — have decreased 6.3 p.c for the reason that 2020 baseline. Nevertheless, its Scope 3 output (oblique emissions from buyer purchases and different provide chain classes) climbed 30.9 p.c in the identical interval.
The corporate’s emissions rose 3.8 p.c year-over-year in fiscal yr 2023. It was the third consecutive improve for the reason that world’s largest software program firm introduced a 2020 aim to change into “carbon damaging” by 2030, Microsoft disclosed Might 15 in its FY2023 environmental sustainability report. That aim commits Microsoft to canceling out the impact of its carbon dioxide, water consumption, waste manufacturing and land use by the top of the last decade.
For the yr ended June 30, 2023, Microsoft reported 17,162,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equal emitted, in contrast with 16,538,000 in fiscal yr 2022. As was the case for the previous three years, all of that improve got here from Scope 3.
The burden of concrete, metal and IT gear
Microsoft executives attribute the rise primarily to its new knowledge facilities.
“Our challenges are partially distinctive to our place as a number one cloud supplier that’s increasing its knowledge facilities,” stated Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith and Microsoft CSO Melanie Nakagawa, within the foreword to its environmental report, printed Might 15. “However much more, we mirror the challenges the world should overcome to develop and use greener concrete, metal, fuels and chips. These are the largest drivers of our Scope 3 challenges.”
Microsoft rivals Amazon and Google aren’t as a result of publish their subsequent environmental progress experiences till July. Each made methodology updates that affected their final experiences that make precise comparisons troublesome, however additionally they have pointed to knowledge heart development — accelerated by demand for synthetic intelligence companies — as a rising problem to power, waste and water objectives. Google would have reported no change in Scope 3 emissions for fiscal yr 2022 within the absence of its methodology change. Amazon reported a 0.7 p.c lower for Scope 3, citing its capability to scale back development emissions.
Microsoft’s Scope 3 accounts for about 96 p.c of its whole emissions. Of that, three-quarters are associated to bought items, Nakagawa advised GreenBiz in an interview. “I believe it’s vital to spotlight, we’re very conscious of what our challenges and alternatives are,” she stated. “We’ve began to place in place initiatives and efforts to get our arms across the measurement of the problem we’ve earlier than us, and what the alternatives are to show that emissions curve down throughout our suppliers and worth chain.”
The corporate launched a company-wide initiative to reverse that pattern, Nakagawa stated. That technique consists of greater than 80 “discrete and vital measures,” together with a brand new requirement that requires “excessive quantity” suppliers — these with which it most incessantly does enterprise — to make use of carbon-free power by 2030. It beforehand required them to scale back absolute emissions a minimal of 55 p.c by that timeframe.
Microsoft adopted stricter emissions disclosures by sure suppliers in the summertime of 2023. (Amazon is embracing comparable measures.) Emissions knowledge can also be a part of Microsoft’s procurement standards — division heads are charged an inside price for emissions, together with these of their suppliers. “The extra that they will make knowledgeable choices which are lower-carbon, the higher off they are going to be by way of the price impression they’ll see on an annual foundation,” Nakagawa stated.
The 80 initiatives are unfold throughout 5 priorities set by the Microsoft Local weather Council. The group is chaired by Smith and consists of Nakagawa and enterprise leaders from throughout the corporate. The priorities are:
- Use digital know-how, together with synthetic intelligence, to assemble insights and automate the administration of electrical energy and water consumption. For instance, Microsoft is an investor in LineVision, which makes software program that helps unlock electrical grid capability.
- Enhance the effectivity of knowledge facilities’ use of water. The corporate’s huge new knowledge heart in Wisconsin, for instance, shall be cooled with a closed-loop, water recycling system that makes use of new water solely in uncommon circumstances.
- Innovate by partnerships, resembling its September 2023 alliance with RMI, to develop a provide of inexperienced metal.
- Use its buying energy for brand spanking new options, together with lower-carbon pc servers, metal, electrical energy and concrete. In April, for instance, Microsoft put extra money into LanzaJet, which makes sustainable aviation gasoline, by its $1 billion Local weather Innovation Fund.
- Advocate for public coverage modifications, illustrated by a 2023 determination to hitch the Coalition for Water Recycling.
Banking on carbon elimination
Microsoft can also be making huge investments in rising approaches for carbon elimination. In fiscal yr 2023, it signed contracts for greater than 5 million metric tons of credit associated to future initiatives, together with a 15-year-deal with Chestnut Carbon for a U.S.-based reforestation mission.
That’s greater than 5 occasions the carbon elimination offsets Microsoft purchased in fiscal yr 2022. It might match that quantity through the present fiscal yr: Microsoft signed its largest carbon elimination deal so far in early Might with Stockholm Exergi. It covers 3.33 million metric tons of carbon elimination for 10 years beginning in 2028.
For accounting functions, carbon offsets are retired as they’re generated. For fiscal 2023, Microsoft retired offsets associated to about 605,000 metric tons of CO2 equal, which permits the corporate to say it’s carbon impartial.
