Microsoft stays “pragmatically optimistic” that it’s going to meet its dedication from 5 years in the past to develop into carbon detrimental by 2030, regardless of reporting a 23.4 p.c cumulative improve in its complete greenhouse gasoline emissions since that point.
That’s in response to the corporate’s Might 29 2025 environmental sustainability report, through which two of the tech large’s senior executives describe that improve as “modest” in contrast with its 168 p.c improve in vitality use and 71 p.c development in income over the identical time interval.
“Microsoft stays steadfast in our dedication to reaching the corporate’s 2030 environmental sustainability commitments,” mentioned President Brad Smith and Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa, in a joint foreword.
Microsoft has promised to chop its emissions in half by 2030, in contrast with 2020, and to take away extra carbon dioxide than it emits throughout that timeframe. It has additionally promised to be water constructive, obtain zero waste and shield ecosystems.
The corporate doesn’t have a company net-zero dedication, as outlined by the Science Primarily based Targets initiative, the de facto requirements setter. It was one in all practically 250 well-known corporations to have its “goal eliminated” in spring 2024, after failing to submit a plan that might meet SBTi’s normal. “We stay engaged with SBTi and hope this entity includes practitioner suggestions extra comprehensively going ahead whereas sustaining a strong governance course of and remaining in shut coordination with the Greenhouse Fuel Protocol updates,” the corporate mentioned in a press release responding to questions from Trellis.
Pragmatic optimism defined
Microsoft does have near-term SBTi targets: to chop the emissions depth for its Scope 3 footprint from issues like productions and use of its merchandise by 30 p.c as a share of income in contrast with a 2017 baseline yr; to keep away from an absolute development in Scope 3, which accounted for 97.3 p.c of its footprint in FY2024; and to supply one hundred pc renewable electrical energy.
To date, it has met simply the final one, by procuring greater than 34 gigawatts in carbon-free vitality since 2020 — 19 in 2024 alone.
The corporate’s confidence comes from its lengthy expertise in creating completely new markets, Nakagawa mentioned throughout an interview. Microsoft, which not too long ago celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, is spending billions to make sustainability a core worth. Amongst different issues, it’s shopping for low-carbon metal, concrete and development supplies. It has allotted greater than $793 million for brand spanking new local weather applied sciences and is now the largest single purchaser of carbon elimination credit, value greater than 30 million metric tons.
These investments have helped reduce Microsoft’s footprint from bought vitality and its personal operations by 30 p.c since 2020.
“We stay pragmatically optimistic, and over the subsequent few years, we wish to proceed to scale these markets, not solely to achieve our targets and for our profit, however frankly, for the world,” she mentioned.
Indicators of progress
Microsoft truly reported a modest 1.8 p.c year-over-year lower in its carbon footprint for its 2024 fiscal yr, which ended June 30. The corporate disclosed complete emissions of 14,857,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equal in contrast with 15,130,000 for FY2023.
That achievement is barely mentioned as a part of the report narrative, and that’s intentional. As extra nations and areas undertake insurance policies for necessary company disclosure, Nakagawa defined, firms will likely be required to report extra totally on progress since their baseline yr. Firms should present that they’re making the types of investments that steer emissions reductions in the best route, she mentioned.
There are additionally vivid spots in Microsoft’s Scope 3 information, i.e., cumulative decreases in emissions associated to those classes:
- Waste generated in operations
- Enterprise journey
- Worker computing
- Downstream transportation and distribution
- Use of bought merchandise
- Finish of life therapy of bought merchandise
- Downstream leased property
Most of those classes account for lower than 2 p.c of Microsoft’s Scope 3 breakdown, besides to be used of bought merchandise, which provides as much as virtually 12 p.c of the full.
Microsoft’s two largest Scope 3 classes are bought items and companies (about 34 p.c of the 2024 complete) and capital items (virtually 41 p.c).
What’s in retailer
To chip away at its two largest Scope 3 classes, Microsoft is popping to its suppliers.
For instance, the corporate is adopting a hybrid method to information heart development that substitutes mass timber supplies for concrete. This cuts the embodied carbon footprint of recent services by 65 p.c in contrast with conventional processes. Microsoft can be adopting chip-level cooling applied sciences. That one design change will assist the corporate decelerate the tempo of recent development (as a result of much less house is required for cooling gear); lower the quantity of vitality required for operations; and keep away from important evaporation of freshwater.
Microsoft’s expectations of suppliers are being constructed into contracts. One in every of its energy buy agreements with renewables developer Engie, for instance, requires that photo voltaic panels be reused or recycled.
Microsoft’s new code of conduct features a requirement for its largest provide chain companions to transition to one hundred pc carbon-free vitality by 2030. To date, 89 services that manufacture Microsoft’s {hardware} — similar to pill computer systems, gaming consoles or equipment — have purchased into renewables. That helped reduce 232,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equal.
Subsequent up: a program, coming in July, that can assist Microsoft suppliers procure certificates that give them credit score by supporting sustainable aviation gas.
