Microsoft: ‘carbon-negative’ by 2030 even for supply chain

Microsoft is pledging to become 100 percent “carbonnegative” by 2030 by removing more carbon from the environment than it emits.

CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday that the commitment will happen “not just across our direct emissions, but across our supply chain, too.”

It’s a major step up from Microsoft’s previous green pledges. The tech company had previously said its data centers would be 60 percent powered by renewable electricity by the end of last year, but environmental groups have said it has fallen short of such rivals as Google and Apple by relying too much on purchasing renewable energy credits to make up for its carbon emissions.

“Microsoft has really been in the middle of the pack,” said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “Not an ‘A’ student but clearly not doing nothing.”

Jardim said that Thursday’s announcement shows a “more serious and holistic” approach and that Microsoft “understands climate science and the shrinking window for action.”

Microsoft had previously set an interim goal of 70 percent renewable energy by 2023. It now says it will hit 100 percent renewable for all of its data centers and buildings by 2025 — and will no longer depend on credit-buying to meet its goals. Google and Apple have already said they reached the 100 percent milestone. Amazon said it would run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Microsoft’s announcement was timed ahead of next week’s gathering of elites at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos. Catastrophic trends like global warming and the extinction of animal species will be a focus of the conference.