Microsoft
has pledged to help protect the environment by reducing its carbon
footprint.
As of today, Microsoft will implement a carbon management plan that aims
to accomplish their goal to become carbon neutral by the end of
fiscal year 2013
The
announcement was made by their CEO Kevin Turner on the company's blog and was later formally presented in the Rio+20 business forum. According to Turner,
“working
on the issues of energy use and environmental change provides another
opportunity to make a difference in the world. It’s the right thing
to do.”
Microsoft
is not the first company
to make a commitment to be carbon neutral. Two other notable
companies with a carbon neutral commitment are HSBC and News
Corporation. Both have achieved this through the purchase of carbon
offsets. It also isn't the first giant tech company trying to reduce
their environmental footprint.
Google
and Facebook
have also implemented different strategies to “cleantheir cloud”.
What makes Microsoft’s approach different is that it places the
cost to reduce carbon emissions on each of its business units.
Introducing
an internal carbon price motivates each unit to find cheaper and
alternate ways to cut their carbon emissions rather than purchase
carbon offsets. In other words, Microsoft is internalizing and taking
responsibility for its environmental externalities.
The money will go towards a global pot that will be used to purchase
carbon credits or renewable energy credits; thus, making Microsoft
carbon neutral.
For
now, the initiative has inspired admiration and acceptance among
environmentalist and the general public. Only time will tell if they
accomplished their goal and what influence it will have on the
industry.
Finally, I would like to leave you with Bill Gates' 2010 TED talk on climate change and renewable energy.
