Microsoft’s moonshot bet to become carbon-negative by 2030; lauded by twitterati

Microsoft on Friday announced its plan to go carbon-negative by 2030.

The tech giant shared a video of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella making the announcement on its news and perspectives Twitter account with the caption, “Become carbon-negative by 2030. Remove all historic carbon emissions by 2050. Work with customers to understand their carbon footprint. Our CEO @satyanadella on our plan.”

“We must take responsibility to address the carbon footprint of our own technology and company,” said Nadella in the video. “But, we will go beyond that. By 2050 we will remove from the environment all of the carbon we have emitted directly or by electrical consumptions since our company’s founding in 1975.”

Twitterati approve

The announcement was well-received by many Twitter users, who appreciated the initiative, and wanting more major companies to follow suit.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, also shared his appreciation for the initiative, relating it to Mahindra Rise’s announcement of going carbon-neutral by 2040 at the Global Climate Action Summit in 2018.

“Bravo @satyanadella  When I announced the intention of @MahindraRise to be carbon-neutral by 2040—10 years ahead of the deadline—I thought we were being bold. You have raised the bar for us all…” tweeted Mahindra.

Twitter user Aaron LaBeau (@biozal) said, “We need more big companies to follow in step. Thank you @satyanadella - you are the best thing to happen to Microsoft since @BillGates.”

Microsoft’s sustainability initiatives

Microsoft plans to adopt a many-faceted approach for addressing its direct and indirect carbon emissions throughout its supply and value chains, partnering with suppliers as well as customers for the initiative. The company shared a detailed article documenting its strategy for the same on its official website. The company will fund its initiative through a carbon fee that has been in place since 2012, the article said.

Microsoft will also be launching a new $1-billion climate innovation fund for the development of technologies with regard to carbon reduction, capture, and removal.

Other initiatives include a 100 per cent shift to renewable energy across Microsoft’s data centres, buildings and campuses by 2025 and electrifying its entire global operations vehicle fleet by 2030.

Microsoft announced that it will maintain complete privacy throughout its initiative by documenting its progress across fronts in a new annual Environmental Sustainability Report.

“This is a bold bet — a moonshot — for Microsoft. And it will need to become a moonshot for the world,” said Microsoft in an official statement.