Removing roadblocks in the race to net zero

Trail running brings together many of the things I love – fresh air, nature, speed, challenge. Over the years, I’ve run a lot of races, but none have been as important as the one we’re running together now: the race to net zero. 

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, businesses and countries must shift to carbon-free energy (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and nuclear) before 2050. Thousands of companies around the world have taken the first steps with their climate commitments, but getting to the global net zero finish line will require a firm foundation of clean energy infrastructure and standards for carbon accounting underfoot. 

It’s going to take strong partnerships and policies to build this foundation and accelerate our pace. As chief sustainability officer of Microsoft, a company with a bold commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, I am focused on being part of the solution and working with others to do the same. 

One roadblock in our way: the world needs access to more carbon-free energy, and this includes Microsoft. Today, we shared in our 2022 Environmental Sustainability Report that while Microsoft’s business grew by 18% year over year in 2022, our emissions declined by 0.5%. While this can be counted as progress, it’s not happening fast enough because 96% of these emissions come from a global energy grid and supply chain that are the most difficult for us, as for most companies, to control through our activities alone. They include emissions from Xbox consoles powered by different electricity grids, the manufacturing of silicon chips that underpin our cloud and devices, or from steel and concrete used to construct our offices and datacenters. 

Meeting our company’s carbon negative commitment is intricately interdependent on the world transitioning to clean energy infrastructure. Our paths will be similar, and progress will appear slow until the foundations are set in place. Like training for a marathon, it will take focus, planning and perseverance to reach the finish line. 

Clean energy infrastructure can help accelerate this progress. The countries that build and operate the cleanest grids will have a competitive differentiator for 2030 and beyond, and these are the countries where Microsoft and others will want to invest. We encourage all governments to adopt firm carbon and electricity policy positions, including carbon reporting, multi-sector carbon reduction policies, grid decarbonization, carbon removal, flexible grid, transmission planning, clean energy equity, and consider skilling their workforce for jobs supporting the clean energy economy. 

It’s a challenge that is bigger than any one company, but Microsoft has taken a first-mover approach, making long-term investments to bring more carbon-free energy onto the grids where we operate. As one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy, we’re seeking ways to diversify and scale up supply. Through our collaboration with Qcells we are using our buying power further upstream to promote the U.S. domestic clean energy supply chain for a broad set of clean energy buyers and developers. And today, we announced the world’s first fusion energy purchase agreement with Helion to help advance the market for this important technology. 

In race training, it’s important to know our pace: in the marathon that is climate change, we need standards and tools for accurately tracking and measuring carbon emissions. Achieving our individual and collective climate goals will only happen if everyone is counting emissions, offsets and carbon removal credits consistently; however, current carbon accounting practices rely on low quality data and broad assumptions based on industry averages. There are no comprehensive methodologies and data standards that exist today for crediting indirect electricity-related reductions, which is a roadblock to large-scale, private sector electricity decarbonization. Microsoft supports the development of more effective carbon accounting standards and initiatives like the Carbon Call. Getting over this hurdle requires partnership with regulators, non-governmental organizations, and other companies for progress to happen. 

Innovative solutions will be an accelerant for addressing climate and environmental challenges, and artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a useful tool: but we need a plentiful clean energy supply globally to power this new technology which has increased consumption demands. We are just at the beginning of what’s possible and the combination of AI and clean energy will play significant roles in making it happen. 

In a world where energy usage and emissions are on the rise, we ALL need to mobilize. We need more first movers, and faster. Microsoft is in a unique position to help, at the intersection of business, policy, technology, and science. It’s this position and platform that led me to join Microsoft and leverage my experience in finance and from the White House.  

Public-private partnerships are one of the strongest tools we have in addressing emissions, energy infrastructure and more broadly, the climate crisis. We call on governments and organizations who want to make meaningful change to join us in this race to build the foundations and overcome obstacles that will help us all meet our commitments for a healthier planet.