Microsoft’s carbon emissions have risen 30% since 2020 due to data center expansion
Microsoft 's total carbon emissions have risen nearly 30% since 2020 primarily due to the construction of data centers, the company said in its annual sustainability report Wednesday.
Microsoft's Scope 1 and 2 emissions — those generated by the company's activities and the consumption of electricity or heat it uses — decreased 6.3% in 2023 compared to 2020, according to the report.
However, its indirect emissions — those that stem from all other activities Microsoft engages in — increased 30.9% during the same period.
The increase in Microsoft's indirect emissions is largely due to the building materials and hardware components, such as semiconductors, servers and racks, used in constructing more data centers.
"Our challenges are in part unique to our position as a leading cloud supplier that is expanding its datacenters," Microsoft said in its annual sustainability report. The tech company said the data center buildout demonstrates the need for greener concrete, steel, fuels and chips.
The expansion of data centers poses a challenge to tech companies that have set ambitious timelines to eliminate their carbon footprints. Microsoft aims to become carbon negative by 2030.
