As the effects of climate change — 2019 was the second hottest year on record — many organizations are ramping up their pledges to reduce carbon emission. Others are pledging to go fully carbon neutral, which means cutting out all their carbon emissions or offsetting them in other ways.
This is an admirable endeavor, to be sure, and not always an easy one. It involves an organization-wide commitment to energy efficiency and many other changes to everything from how a company’s widgets are made to how employees travel for business.
Microsoft, however, is raising the bar. The software company has pledged to go “carbon negative” by 2030, meaning it plans to remove more carbon from the atmosphere, than it emits. Furthermore, by 2050, the company’s goal is to remove every molecule of carbon it has emitted since its founding in 1975, essentially erasing its total carbon footprint.
The company will ramp up its renewable energy efforts, encourage its entire supply chain to cut emissions, and use electric vehicles as parts of its carbon negative plan. To remove carbon from the atmosphere, the company plans to devote $1 billion to fund investment in developing carbon capture and removal technologies.
This post was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, executive editor, Building Operating Management and FacilitiesNet.com. Read his cover story about Chris Walinski and his mission to make open offices flexible and productive.
