Commercial, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  March 14, 2022

Microsoft Updates Sustainability Goals

 Microsoft updated its progress on becoming net zero by 2030, including its reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of 17% year over year by purchasing renewable energy.

 The company did experience a rise in its Scope 3 emissions, which increased about 23% year over year, wrote Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair, and Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer in a blog post. 

 “We know that Scope 3 emissions (representing the total emissions across a company’s entire value chain) are the most difficult to control and reduce,” Smith and Joppa wrote. “Our experience this past year has provided us with critical and additional early learning on our path towards our 2030 carbon negative milestone, and we are applying this learning quickly with additional measures to strengthen efforts to reduce our Scope 3 emissions.”

 The company also said in its annual sustainability report that in 2021 it made the world’s largest purchase of carbon removal at 1.4 million metric tons and this fiscal year is on track to exceed that by procuring 1.5 million metric tons. 

 Microsoft will be restructuring and increasing its internal carbon fee to help incentivize more aggressive measures to reduce Scope 3 emissions and better match the underlying cost of carbon abatement.

 In 2021, the company invested in several climate initiatives, including:

• A $100 million grant to Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to accelerate the development of climate solutions to reach net zero across four key areas: clean hydrogen, direct air capture, long-duration energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel.
• Allocated $471 million to date via its four-year, $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate the global development of carbon reduction and removal technologies, as well as related climate solutions to reduce water and waste. Recent investments include LanzaJet, BlocPower and Eversource.

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