Microsoft Pledges to Go Carbon Negative by 2030 Including a $1 Billion Climate Innovation Fund

Microsoft took an impressive climate leadership position this week when the company announced a promise to remove all of the carbon the company has ever put in the atmosphere directly or by consumption - back to the company’s founding in a garage in 1975.  The company plans to be “carbon negative” by 2030.  

According to a company statement by President Brad Smith, "While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so." 

As a part of the company’s carbon related efforts, Microsoft plans to launch a $1 billion climate innovation fund to accelerate the global development of technologies to reduce, capture, and remove carbon.  The company will work with suppliers and customers to reduce their collaborative impacts, and will add its voice to advocate for policies to reduce and remove carbon from the atmosphere.  Results will be reported in an Annual Sustainability Report that will detail the company’s impact and learnings.  

The company plans to rely on 7 guiding principles to lead this impressive effort:

1. Grounding in science and math
2. Taking responsibility for our carbon footprint.
3. Investing for new carbon reduction and removal technology
4. Empowering customers around the world
5. Ensuring effective transparency
6. Using our voice on carbon-related public policy issues
7. Enlisting our employees

 

Companies are increasingly realizing that significant steps must be taken, and immediately, to begin to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.  Carbon reduction efforts are becoming increasingly common, and some companies have pledged to become carbon neutral.  Cynthia Cummins, Director or Private Sector Climate Mitigation at the World Resources Institute (WRI) notes that Microsoft’s pledge to remove all of its emissions ever is rare, stating, I have never seen that before.”   She’s also impressed by the company’s level of detail and at such an early stage.  Microsoft President Brad Smith has a ready answer in his announcement, stating, ""Neutral is not enough to address the world's needs.”  Let’s hope other companies will be as brave and will jump into this commitment wholeheartedly on their own, and in collaboration.  

 

To learn more:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/01/16/microsoft-will-be-carbon-negative-by-2030/

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796758230/microsoft-pledges-to-remove-from-the-atmosphere-all-the-carbon-its-ever-emitted

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/microsofts-carbon-negative-gambit?utm_campaign=GTMsocial&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1579882592

 

Image: Microsoft (Brian Smale)