Editing Microsoft (section)

===Environment===
In 2011, [[Greenpeace]] released a report rating the top ten big brands in [[cloud computing]] on their sources of electricity for their [[data center]]s. At the time, data centers consumed up to 2% of all global electricity, and this amount was projected to increase. [[Phil Radford]] of Greenpeace said, "We are concerned that this new explosion in electricity use could lock us into old, polluting energy sources instead of the clean energy available today",<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[Greenpeace]] |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/dirty-data-report-greenpeace.pdf |title=Dirty Data Report Card |access-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910205409/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/dirty-data-report-greenpeace.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and called on "Amazon, Microsoft and other leaders of the information-technology industry must embrace clean energy to power their cloud-based data centers".<ref>[http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2018176038_guest10radford.html "Amazon, Microsoft: Let's keep 'the cloud' clean"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204074032/http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2018176038_guest10radford.html |date=December 4, 2013}}, Phil Radford</ref> In 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy power generated by a Texas wind project to power one of its data centers.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/04/microsoft-wind-powered-data-centre "Microsoft looks to boost eco credentials with wind-powered data centre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106175010/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/04/microsoft-wind-powered-data-centre |date=January 6, 2017}}, Suzanne Goldenberg</ref>

Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeace's ''Guide to Greener Electronics'' (16th Edition) that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling, and climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/Previous-Edition-October-2010/ |title=Guide to Greener Electronics&nbsp;– Greenpeace International (16th Edition) |publisher=Greenpeace International |access-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331130430/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/Previous-Edition-October-2010/ |archive-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> Microsoft's timeline for phasing out [[brominated flame retardant]] (BFRs) and [[phthalate]]s in all products was 2012 but its commitment to phasing out [[Polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] is not clear. {{As of|2011|01|post=,}} it has no products that are completely free from PVC and BFRs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/toxics/2010/version16/Ranking%20tables%20Oct%202010-Microsoft.pdf |title=Ranking tables October 2010&nbsp;– Greenpeace International |publisher=Greenpeace International |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128162332/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/toxics/2010/version16/Ranking%20tables%20Oct%202010-Microsoft.pdf |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{update inline|date=March 2024}}

Microsoft's main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]] (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000 [[solar panel]]s on top of its buildings at its [[Silicon Valley]] campus, generating approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed by the facilities in April 2005.<ref name="news1">{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/Microsoft-vs.-Google-Whos-greener/2100-1022_3-6080297.html?tag=mncol;txt |title=Microsoft vs. Google: Who's greener? |work=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |last=Mills |first=Elinor |date=June 6, 2008 |access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref> Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the world's largest private bus systems, the "Connector", to transport people from outside the company; for on-campus transportation, the "Shuttle Connect" uses a large fleet of hybrid cars to save fuel. The "Connector" does not compete with the public bus system and works with it to provide a cohesive transportation network not just for its employees but also for the public.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garrett |first=Mark |title=Encyclopedia of Transportation: Social Science and Policy |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4833-4651-9 |location=Los Angeles, CA |pages=390 |language=en}}</ref>

Microsoft also subsidizes regional [[public transport]], provided by [[Sound Transit]] and [[King County Metro]], as an incentive.<ref name="news1" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/environment/our_commitment/articles/alternative_commuting.aspx |title=Fostering Alternative Ways to Commute at Microsoft |publisher=Microsoft |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501154211/http://www.microsoft.com/environment/our_commitment/articles/alternative_commuting.aspx |archive-date=May 1, 2008}}</ref> In February 2010, however, Microsoft took a stance against adding additional public transport and [[high-occupancy vehicle lane|high-occupancy vehicle]] (HOV) lanes to the [[Washington State Route 520|State Route 520]] and [[Evergreen Point Floating Bridge|its floating bridge]] connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.king5.com/news/Microsofts-big-520-advertisement-85031317.html |work=King5 Television News |title=Seattle hires consultant to look at 520 bridge plan |date=February 23, 2010 |access-date=July 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226123840/http://www.king5.com/news/Microsofts-big-520-advertisement-85031317.html |archive-date=February 26, 2010 }}</ref> Microsoft was ranked number 1 in the list of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2016631709_microsoft_named_best_multinational_workplace_by_gr.html |title=Microsoft Pri0 &#124; Microsoft named best multinational workplace |publisher=Seattle Times Newspaper |date=October 28, 2011 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |first=Janet I. |last=Tu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711115601/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2016631709_microsoft_named_best_multinational_workplace_by_gr.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2020, the company announced a strategy to take the company [[Carbon footprint|carbon negative]] by 2030 and to [[Carbon dioxide removal|remove all carbon]] that it has emitted since its foundation in 1975.<ref>{{cite news|last=Domonoske|first=Camila|date=January 16, 2020|title=Microsoft Pledges To Remove From The Atmosphere All The Carbon It Has Ever Emitted|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796758230/microsoft-pledges-to-remove-from-the-atmosphere-all-the-carbon-its-ever-emitted|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=January 16, 2020|title=Microsoft wants to capture all of the carbon dioxide it's ever emitted|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/16/21068799/microsoft-carbon-capture-climate-change|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=January 28, 2021|title=Microsoft made a giant climate pledge one year ago — here's where it's at now|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/28/22254483/microsoft-climate-change-pledge-update-carbon-dioxide-removal|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> On October 9, 2020, Microsoft permanently allowed [[remote work]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/microsofts-work-from-home-to-become-permanent |last=Ciaccia |first=Chris |title=Microsoft's work-from-home policy to become permanent  |website=[[FOX Business]] |date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> In January 2021, the company announced on [[Twitter]] to join the [[Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact]], which engages the cloud infrastructure and data centers industries to reach [[carbon neutrality]] in Europe by 2030, and also disclosed an investment in [[Climeworks]], a [[direct air capture]] company partnered with [[Carbfix]] for [[carbon sequestration]].{{refn|group=list|name=MicrosoftClimeworks|<ref>{{cite news|last=Geman|first=Ben|date=January 28, 2021|title=Microsoft backs direct air capture player Climeworks|website=Axios|url=https://www.axios.com/2021/01/28/microsoft-climate-change-climeworks-carbon|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=September 9, 2021|title=How the largest direct air capture plant will suck {{CO2}} out of the atmosphere|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/9/22663597/largest-direct-air-capture-plant-c02-climeworks-iceland|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joppa|first1=Lucas|last2=Luers|first2=Amy|last3=Willmott|first3=Elizabeth|last4=Friedmann|first4=S. Julio|last5=Hamburg|first5=Steven P.|last6=Broze|first6=Rafael|date=September 29, 2021|title=Microsoft's million-tonne {{CO2}}-removal purchase — lessons for net zero|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=597|issue=7878 |pages=629–632|doi=10.1038/d41586-021-02606-3 |bibcode=2021Natur.597..629J |s2cid=238229298 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02606-3|access-date=July 14, 2022 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Brabant|first=Malcolm|title=To combat climate change, these scientists are turning CO2 into rock|date=August 23, 2016|work=PBS NewsHour|publisher=WETA-TV|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/combat-climate-change-scientists-turning-co2-rock|access-date=July 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Clifford|first=Catherine|date=June 28, 2022|title=From milligrams to gigatons: Startup that sucks carbon dioxide from the air is building a big plant in Iceland|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/28/climeworks-carbon-dioxide-removal-company-building-iceland-plant.html|access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref>}} In the same year, it was awarded the EPA's Green Power Leadership Award, citing the company's [[100% renewable energy|all-renewable energy use]] since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=May 14, 2021 |title=Green Power Leadership Awardees |url=https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awardees |access-date=June 29, 2023 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2023, Microsoft announced that it purchased $200 million in [[Carbon offsets and credits|carbon credits to offset]] 315,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 10 years from Heirloom Carbon, a carbon removal company that mixes [[calcium oxide]] from heated crushed [[limestone]] with [[water]] to form [[Orthocarbonic acid|carbon hydroxide]] to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to [[Mineralization (soil science)|mineralize]] back into limestone while the released carbon dioxide is [[Carbon capture and storage|stored underground]] or [[Environmental impact of concrete#Carbon concrete|injected into concrete]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ramkumar|first1=Amrith|date=September 7, 2023|title=Microsoft Will Use Carbon-Absorbing Rocks to Meet Climate Goals|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/microsoft-will-use-carbon-absorbing-rocks-to-meet-climate-goals-57ea802a|access-date=September 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Olick|first=Diana|date=December 5, 2022|title=Microsoft-backed start-up Heirloom uses limestone to capture CO2|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/microsoft-backed-start-up-heirloom-uses-limestone-to-capture-co2.html|access-date=September 12, 2023}}</ref> Despite spending spent more than $760 million through its Climate Innovation Fund by June 2024 on sustainability projects—including purchases of more than 5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide removal with carbon offsets and more than 34 megawatts of renewable energy—Microsoft's [[Carbon accounting|Scope 3 emissions]] had increased by 31% from the company's 2020 baseline, which caused the company's total emissions to rise by 29% in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cleveland-Peck|first=Perry|date=June 26, 2024|title=Microsoft Wrestles With Rising Emissions From AI Ahead of Its 2030 Carbon-Negative Goal|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-wrestles-with-rising-emissions-from-ai-ahead-of-its-2030-net-zero-goal-b53d4cf4|access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>

In 2023 Microsoft consumed 24 TWh of electricity, more than countries such as Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, or Tunisia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hale |first1=Craig |title=Google and Microsoft now each consume more power than some fairly big countries |url=https://www.techradar.com/pro/google-and-microsoft-now-each-consume-more-power-than-some-fairly-big-countries |work=TechRadar |date=15 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref>