More than $10 million has been saved
every year and emissions reduced by the equivalent of 7.5 million tonnes
of carbon dioxide through investments in energy efficiency, green power
and carbon offset community projects, software giant Microsoft says in a
new report.
The company, which set a voluntary
internal carbon fee four years ago, says its carbon-neutral initiatives
have impacted more than 3.2 million people in emerging nations.
It has purchased more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of ‘green power’ for lighting up its offices since July 2012.
These facts came to light in its white
paper that was released at the just concluded COP-22 United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Marrakech in Morocco.
“We seek to serve as a model in our
commitment to environmental sustainability by delivering on our carbon
neutrality commitment and uncovering new ways technology can help us
better understand our planet,” says the paper, quoting Microsoft CEO
Satya Nadella.
It says the company’s goal is to reach a
point where all greenhouse gas emissions are safely absorbed by healthy
forests, soils, and other natural or nature-based infrastructure.
“Since we implemented the carbon fee
(July 2012), we have reinvested a portion of the carbon fee investment
fund into our company through a range of internal carbon reduction
initiatives, such as lighting equipment upgrades and e-waste recycling,”
says the paper.
“Specifically, part of the cost of
energy that we consume from carbon-based sources is ultimately
redirected to invest in projects that reduce the environmental impact of
our operationally controlled facilities.”
The paper says that since the launch of
the programme, the company has funded over 60 projects in 23 countries
by investing more than $2 million.
To establish the price on carbon, the
company has a Carbon Neutral Council, a cross-corporate group that
provides feedback on and buy-in to the programme.
To retire its e-waste appropriately, the
company has recycled over 4,00,000 assets and reused over 350,000
assets in the US alone.
The programme also supports additional
recycling and reuse in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific
and Latin America.
To light up its offices, the company is switching over to renewable sources.
In November 2013, the company signed a
long-term agreement with RES Americas to purchase 100 percent of the
energy from the Keechi Wind Project, a 110-megawatt facility in Texas.
Similar pacts were also signed with other renewable companies.
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