Microsoft recently announced an ambitious goal and a new plan to reduce and ultimately remove its carbon footprint. By 2030, the technology giant will be carbon negative, and by 2050 the brand plans to remove all the carbon from the environment, the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975.
In a post on the Official Microsoft Blog, President Brad Smith wrote, “The world’s climate experts agree that the world must take urgent action to bring down emissions. Ultimately, we must reach ‘net zero’ emissions, meaning that humanity must remove as much carbon as it emits each year. This will take aggressive approaches, new technology that doesn’t exist today, and innovative public policy. It is an ambitious – even audacious – goal, but science tells us that it’s a goal of fundamental importance to every person alive today and for every generation to follow.
“While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so. That’s why today we are announcing an ambitious goal and a new plan to reduce and ultimately remove Microsoft’s carbon footprint.”
At an event at its headquarters, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, President Brad Smith, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, and Chief Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa announced the company’s new goals and a detailed plan to become carbon negative.
The company presented an aggressive program to cut carbon emissions by more than half by 2030, both for their direct emissions and for the entire supply and value chain. This includes driving down Microsoft’s own direct emissions and emissions related to the energy the company uses to near zero by the middle of this decade.
It also announced a new initiative to use Microsoft technology to help our suppliers and customers around the world reduce their own carbon footprints and a new $1 billion climate innovation fund to accelerate the global development of carbon reduction, capture and removal technologies. Beginning next year, the company will also make carbon reduction an explicit aspect of our procurement processes for their supply chain. A new annual Environmental Sustainability Report will detail Microsoft’s carbon impact and reduction journey.
And lastly, Microsoft will use its voice and advocacy to support public policy that will accelerate carbon reduction and removal opportunities.
