Going Further and Faster with Sustainability: A Conversation with Lucas Joppa, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer

Q: We saw the recent news that Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030 – that is impressive! How will Microsoft use innovation and ability to scale to make this happen?

Microsoft is proud to have been carbon neutral in our operations since 2012. Now, with our new more ambitious goals and detailed plans we are putting our technology and expertise to the test across our business. This includes our existing expertise in energy finance and research, work with our suppliers, and investments in equipping environmental change-makers with AI and cloud tools through our AI for Earth program. Our commitment also means making use of our role as a major technology company; we will leverage existing and new partner and customer relationships to spur change, as well as invest $1 billion dollars in carbon removal projects and technology.

Q: At the upcoming GoGreen Conference you will share how leading global organizations like Microsoft can use operations, investments and technology to bring down emissions and lessen the impact to our climate. Can you give us a preview of what we will learn by attending?

I’ll be speaking about what Microsoft is doing itself to reduce and remove our carbon footprint. More expansively, I’ll cover the conversations we’re having with customers about how they can meet their own sustainability goals. A key part of that is to understand what your emissions are and the tools at your disposal to address them.

Q: You are clearly a leading climate champion as Microsoft’s first Chief Environmental Officer and in starting Microsoft’s AI for Earth program back in 2017 – a cross-company effort dedicated to delivering technology-enabled solutions to global environmental challenges. What is next on the horizon for you?

For me it is all about continuing to go further faster with sustainability at Microsoft. This is an area where we must be constantly innovating, and one where we can never become complacent. In the short term we are continuing to build the infrastructure to meet our carbon commitments and partnering with innovators and customers to develop the tools and technology to reduce and remove carbon. Beyond that we’re also looking at the additional focus areas of ecosystems, waste, and water.