Microsoft said this morning it plans to cut carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030, taking another step in a push to use more clean energy and make its operations more sustainable.
Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith wrote in a blog post that the emissions goal puts the company on the path to meet benchmarks set by the Paris climate agreement. The U.S. is the only country opposing the accords, which aim to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius, but tech companies like Microsoft are taking action to make their businesses more sustainable.
“As a global company, the changes we make in how we operate our business and the goals we set have a worldwide impact,” Smith wrote. “It’s our hope that this pledge inspires others to join us in setting targets, and provides confidence to governments, companies and individuals that it’s possible for entities to help reach the goals set in the Paris climate agreement.”
Microsoft has previously pledged that half of the electricity to power its data centers will come from renewable sources by 2018. The bar will be raised to 60 percent for the early 2020s. Microsoft earlier this year struck a deal with Puget Sound Energy that would allow the company to shift 80 percent of its energy use on campus to renewable sources purchased wholesale from other providers.
These moves, Smith writes, are good for the environment and Microsoft’s bottom line. Using renewable energy to power its data centers and headquarters campus saves money on utility bills and creates more “financial predictability.“
