Going Green Isn’t Always Easy: Microsoft Case Study

The software giant wants to be carbon-negative by 2030.

To stop the planet from getting hotter, we have to stop emitting heat-trapping CO2 into the air—and this “we” means not just individuals, but also governments and huge corporations. Yet if recent efforts by the software giant Microsoft are any indication, the work of companies to halt climate change won’t be straightforward.

Microsoft set out in 2020 to become carbon-negative by 2030—meaning overall it would take more carbon out of the atmosphere than it adds. Progress toward that goal, though, does not appear to be on track, due partly to the immense energy demands of the three-trillion-dollar company’s growing AI business.

How does a company go “carbon-negative?”

There are a few ways Microsoft can reach its 2030 goal. Trees help, but this approach is deceptively complex: For starters, how do you measure, report, and verify such efforts? 

Another approach involves technologies like “direct air capture,” or machines that suck carbon out of the air and store it away indefinitely. Though crucial, scaling these up enough to make an appreciable difference will be a monumental task.

So for Microsoft to become carbon-negative by 2030, the lion’s share of the work has to come from cutting its emissions while standing up renewables—that is, relying less and less on burning fossil fuels. “We need to decarbonize supply chains and take action to build the carbon-free electricity infrastructure needed by Microsoft, our suppliers, our partners, and the world,” the company’s 2024 sustainability report (PDF) states.

What is “carbon-free electricity?”

The marquee examples of CFE are solar, wind, and geothermal power. Microsoft’s report adds a few more that tend to be controversial among energy wonks.

For instance, there’s CCUS—short for carbon capture, utilization, and storage—which purports to sock away carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels before they’re ever loose in the atmosphere. CCUS, a report earlier this year noted, has “a history of over-promising and under-delivering. The technology has shown little evidence of cost improvements and scalability and applications in some key sectors are still untested and very costly.”

Then there’s nuclear power. It doesn’t emit carbon, but critics argue it strains practicality because it requires a host of other safeguards, and is prone to years-long construction delays and cost overruns.

Remarkably, that isn’t stopping Microsoft from working to reopen a shuttered nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station is perhaps best known as the site of a partial meltdown decades ago; it could come back online around 2028.

Why this matters to you

The planet will keep getting hotter, extreme weather will keep getting more extreme, and the strain of these impacts on the things we care about will all keep getting more intense—until we stop burning fossil fuels.

Again, this “we” includes huge corporations like Microsoft, as well as governments—and it also includes people like you. Aligning the crying need for climate action with the work of major companies, suppliers, regulators, and so on all hinges on the work of knowledgeable people with talent and determination.

Showing up for this moment matters. Terra.do exists to equip you with the context, connections, and skills to step up climate action in your life and your career. Find out more about our 12-week online Learning for Action course here.

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