Despite the increase in emissions, Microsoft's own Scope 1 and 2 emissions have decreased by six percent since 2020, thanks to clean energy procurement, green tariff programs, and use of renewable energy certificates. The company is also expanding the use of low-power server states, which has led to a reduction in energy usage of up to 25% on unallocated servers. Microsoft's President and Vice Chair, Brad Smith, stated that the company believes the benefits of AI will outweigh its environmental impact and that the focus should be on making AI more environmentally friendly.
Key takeaways:
- Microsoft's carbon dioxide emissions have increased by nearly 30 percent since 2020, largely due to the construction and provisioning of more datacenters for cloud services and AI support.
- Over 96 percent of Microsoft's total emissions are indirect (Scope 3), including those from its supply chain and the life cycle of its hardware and devices.
- Microsoft aims to address the Scope 3 issue by requiring select high-volume suppliers to use 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030, and has also reduced energy usage by up to 25 percent on unallocated servers.
- Despite efforts to design datacenters that consume zero water for cooling, Microsoft's water consumption increased in FY23, leading to increased investment in water replenishment programs.