Microsoft’s 2030 Plan Revealed as Emissions Rise by 23.4%

Microsoft has released its 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report, marking the halfway point to its 2030 climate commitments. 

In the 90-page document, the US-based tech giant reflects on the progress it has made against the pledges it made in 2020.

The goals it had aimed to accomplish by 2030 were various and ambitious.

They included becoming carbon negative and water positive, whilst also producing zero waste and protecting more land than it used.

This report gives us an insight into how Microsoft has measured up in the five years since – a five years that has been filled with technological advancements, economic uncertainty, international conflicts, the continuation of climate change and a global pandemic – and reveals that progress has been mixed.

Microsoft has made quantifiable strides forward in several areas, but – crucially – its emissions have soared as a result of its expansion in the field of cloud computing and AI.

Emissions are up, but so is output

While Microsoft has achieved a 30% reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its 2020 baseline, total emissions – including Scope 3 – rose 23.4% in the 2024 fiscal year. 

This increase has been driven largely by the energy intensity of its AI and cloud investments.

The company’s CSO, Melanie Nakagawa, implied this may be the case in February 2025, as Microsoft announced it was readjusting its focus on sustainability.

"In 2020, Microsoft leaders referred to our sustainability goals as a 'moonshot', and nearly five years later, we have had to acknowledge that the moon has gotten further away," she wrote in a blog post at the time.

Microsoft’s Scope 3 emissions alone – which account for more than 97% of Microsoft’s total carbon footprint – have increased by 26% over the past five years.

These indirect emissions stem largely from the production and use of Microsoft’s hardware, the construction materials in its building projects and its third-party services.

“We remain pragmatically optimistic because of the promise of new sustainability technologies, innovations in AI and market solutions,” Melanie and Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President of Microsoft, say in a joint statement at the start of this report.

This echoes what Melanie said previously regarding the long-term value that investing in AI will bring to the climate fight.

"The force creating this distance from our goals in the short term is the same one that will help us build a bigger, faster and more powerful rocket to reach them in the long term: artificial intelligence," she wrote.

Other than investments in technology, Microsoft is hoping to mitigate its upstream emissions by leaning on its suppliers, setting new requirements for sustainable operations. 

A new clause in its Supplier Code of Conduct mandates a shift to 100% carbon-free electricity for all goods and services delivered to Microsoft by 2030, which could have a huge impact on the firm’s Scope 3 emissions.

Efforts are also underway to scale sustainable fuels in an attempt to decarbonise the company’s fleets and logistics teams.

Renewable energy and carbon removal

The report details Microsoft’s investments in renewable energy around the world, which read impressively.

The company has now contracted 34 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity across 24 countries – 18 times more than it had in 2020.

This includes its first large-scale nuclear power purchase agreement, which will go towards restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania.

In terms of carbon removal, Microsoft also secured deals totalling 22 million tonnes in FY24 – more than the previous four years combined. 

These contracts span nature-based solutions and engineered technologies, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture (DAC) and reforestation projects in Brazil.

Microsoft is also one of the world's largest investors in carbon credits, partnering with firms like Carbon Direct on the procurement process.

“We are committed to helping build the markets we buy from,” Melanie and Brad say in the foreword.

“Translating leading science into commercial innovation and regularly updating our Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal.”

Water, waste and conservation

Microsoft’s sustainability focus is not entirely on emissions.

The company has met or exceeded many of its key targets in water stewardship, waste management and ecosystem protection.

In FY24, Microsoft replenished more than 104 million cubic metres of water and provided more than 1.5 million people with access to clean water and sanitation. 

The introduction of a new data centre design that uses zero water for cooling is also expected to avoid the consumption of up to 125,000 cubic metres per site annually – which aims to help combat the impact of the company’s growing AI presence.

When it comes to waste, Microsoft successfully diverted 85% of construction and demolition waste from landfills, surpassing its 75% target six years ahead of schedule. 

Its reuse and recycling rate for servers and components reached 90.9% and its work on sustainable packaging has helped to significantly reduce the company’s material waste.

The tech giant also exceeded its goal of protecting more land than it uses by 30%, driven in part by biodiversity-focused initiatives that were powered by the Microsoft Planetary Computer and its AI for Good Lab.

Green infrastructure and circular design

The report also shows that Microsoft is integrating sustainability into the design and operation of its data centres and digital campuses.

It launched a series of mass timber data centres, using up to 65% less embodied carbon, whilst it is also transitioning to chip-level liquid cooling to reduce both its energy and water use.

Microsoft’s ‘East Campus Modernisation Project’ in Puget Sound opened seven new LEED Platinum buildings in FY24, which are fuelled by geothermal energy.

Meanwhile, new LEED-certified facilities in the UK and electrification projects in China, India and the US are scaling cleaner transport and building operations.

“We are building an efficient, sustainable engine that drives us closer to our commitments,” Melanie explains.

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