Microsoft Appoints New Team to Tackle Scope 3 Emissions

Microsoft has confirmed the creation of a dedicated decarbonisation team, signalling a strong focus on reducing its Scope 3 emissions, which include emissions from purchased goods and services.

This new initiative highlights the company's commitment to tackling one of the most challenging aspects of its environmental footprint.

The team includes three experts with deep experience in sustainability.

Sofia Khan, previously Net Zero lead at Meta, brings experience as a sustainability manager at Quantis.

Tim Hopper, a Microsoft veteran with over 20 years of experience in sustainability, and Ray Waweru, formerly Sustainable Procurement Lead at Google, complete the team.

These appointments were announced by Charlie Sellars, Microsoft’s Director of Sustainability, who shared the news on LinkedIn.

"Incredibly honoured to have these three on my team to tackle those pesky Scope 3.1 'Purchased Goods and Services' carbon emissions from our cloud and AI operations," Sellars wrote, acknowledging the significant challenge ahead.

“Now to roll up our sleeves and get it done.”

Scope 3.1 emissions refer to those emitted upstream from purchased products, including both tangible goods and intangible services.

Microsoft’s growing carbon challenge

Forming this task force is part of Microsoft’s wider strategy to reduce emissions from its expanding data centre operations. As the demand for cloud services and AI computing power grows, so do the company’s emissions.

Microsoft has committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions by more than 50% by 2030, using 2020 as the baseline.

However, despite efforts, the company’s Scope 3 emissions have increased by 30% since 2020, driven by a surge in data centre construction and hardware production.

This includes the embodied carbon in building materials and components like semiconductors and servers.

Scope 3 emissions, which account for over 96% of Microsoft's total emissions, have become the company’s most significant challenge in its sustainability journey.

While it has successfully reduced its direct operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2), overall emissions have risen by 29.1% since 2020. This makes the new team’s work essential to meet Microsoft's ambitious climate targets.

Focus on supplier collaboration

Beyond internal efforts, Microsoft is rolling out policies aimed at its suppliers. It has launched a company-wide initiative to push key suppliers towards using 100% carbon-free electricity.

By involving suppliers in the journey to carbon reduction, Microsoft aims to influence its entire supply chain, a critical step in reducing Scope 3 emissions.

When the latest emissions data was released, Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President at Microsoft, and Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer, stressed the importance of addressing Scope 3 emissions more aggressively.

“The rise in our Scope 3 emissions primarily comes from the construction of more data centres and the associated embodied carbon in building materials, as well as hardware components such as semiconductors, servers and racks,” they stated. 

While Microsoft still faces significant hurdles in reducing its Scope 3 emissions, the company continues to make progress in other areas.

These include accelerating carbon removal, improving waste reduction by designing for circularity, and working towards a net positive impact on biodiversity, with plans to protect more land than it uses.

Microsoft's renewed focus on Scope 3 emissions, spearheaded by a newly appointed decarbonisation team, highlights the tech giant's dedication to addressing its environmental impact.

With the majority of its emissions stemming from purchased goods and services, this specialised team will play a critical role in shaping Microsoft’s path to a more sustainable future.

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