Showing our work: Inside our 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report

Earlier this month we published our 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report, an annual moment to take stock of the progress we've made, share our learnings and be clear about the work still ahead in sustainability. 

This year's report arrives at an important moment, as AI reshapes what our infrastructure must deliver and what responsible growth requires. It reflects how we're working to responsibly build the AI future by operationalizing sustainability across our infrastructure and products, driving efficiency across our supply chain, forging partnerships, building markets, and helping advance the broader changes needed to create lasting progress. It also shares two milestones we're especially proud of: for the first time, we replenished more water globally than we withdrew and matched 100% of our global annual electricity consumption with renewable energy. 

Transparency has long been central to how we operate at Microsoft and how we approach sustainability. Annually, we share our data and lessons learned to provide a clear view of both the progress we have made and the work still ahead. This year’s report builds on that commitment to transparency by sharing more granular data, greater precision in our reporting, and additional insight into the programs and progress that shape our journey. It shows not only what we have achieved, but how we are continuing to innovate and adapt as we work to deliver against our ambitious goals. 

Throughout this year's report, that commitment to transparency comes through in different ways: 

➡️ We're sharing how progress happens. We often measure progress through big milestones and headline numbers. But progress is built project by project, community by community. Our new global project map brings together our carbon, water, waste, ecosystem, connectivity, and community initiatives worldwide, showing how individual projects that make a tangible difference in local communities can add up to progress at a global scale. 

➡️ We’re expanding data to bring clarity. For the communities where we operate, what matters most is what's happening where they live. That's why this year's report includes FY25 datacenter water and electricity use for key locations across four regions. 

➡️ We’re reporting progress with precision—not rounding away the work ahead. By the end of 2025, we reduced single-use plastics in our primary product packaging to 0.07%. That’s real progress. But it’s also unfinished work. We’re proud of this progress and continue to work to address the gap that remains. 

Years of this work have taught us that accountability requires more than measuring progress. It means understanding how and why progress happens, being clear about what's working and what's not, and using that perspective to focus our efforts where they can make the greatest difference. 

So, in that spirit, I invite you to take a closer look—not only at what we reported this year, but at the numbers and methods behind how we measure impact. 

Why does measurement matter as AI infrastructure grows? 

As AI infrastructure grows, we continue expanding the scope and precision of our water and energy data to better understand how our datacenters interact with local water supplies and energy grids, track changes over time, and strengthen partnerships with communities to help support community needs.  

Each metric adds a distinct lens to give a more complete picture of both resource needs and actions taken to support the communities where we live and work.  

• Electricity consumption shows how much power Microsoft-owned datacenters use. 
• Water withdrawal measures the volume of water drawn from local sources. 
• Non-potable water shows how much of that water came from recycled, reused, or other non-drinking-water sources. 
• Water replenishment reflects water returned to local watersheds and communities through conservation, restoration, and recharge projects. 

Our 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report shares the four levers we use to shape our progress: improving efficiency, building markets, advancing policy, and forging partnerships. 

Meaningful progress requires choosing the right intervention for the problem at hand. Some challenges are best addressed by reducing resource use at the source. Others require helping new solutions reach commercial scale. Still others depend on policies, infrastructure, or local partnerships. 

1. Improving efficiency: Publishing the metrics behind our progress 📈 

Clear, more precise metrics help us track progress and hold ourselves accountable. This year, we're sharing data behind our key operational goals, including a 25% reduction in datacenter water usage effectiveness since 2022, and a 90.5% diversion rate for construction and demolition waste, exceeding our target for the second consecutive year.  

2. Building markets: Advancing lower carbon materials 🌍 

This past year, we signed a seven-year agreement with Stegra, supported by our Climate Innovation Fund, to help accelerate the market for lower-carbon construction materials. Through this agreement, we expect to secure near-zero-emissions steel from steel produced with up to 95% lower emissions than conventional steel, along with environmental attribute certificates. This lower-emissions approach to steel production can help reduce embodied carbon while strengthening demand for lower-carbon materials throughout the construction industry. 

3. Advancing policy: Creating common measurements 📊 

In the European Union, we shared our technical expertise to help shape a common approach for measuring datacenter sustainability and efficiency. Consistent standards make it easier for communities, policymakers, and companies to compare information, understand impacts, and recognize best-in-class infrastructure. 

4. Forging partnerships: Expanding access to climate data 🌐 

Information creates more value when it's widely available. Through our partnership with the UNFCCC and EY, we helped develop the Climate Data Hub, an AI-enabled platform that brings together climate data from more than 190 countries. By making data easier to access and analyze, the platform helps governments and organizations better understand progress, identify gaps, and focus action where it's needed most.

"Today, accountability depends not only on setting ambitious goals, but on improving how we deliver against them." – 2026 Microsoft Environmental Sustainability Report 

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• Read the 2026 sustainability report 
• Explore our 2026 data fact sheet 
• Learn about our sustainability goals 
• See how we are building community-first AI infrastructure