Microsoft to double internal CO2 tax as it plots ‘tech first’ sustainability path

Microsoft’s undersea datacentre in Orkney, Scotland, which uses 100 per cent renewable power | Credit: Microsoft Microsoft has today unveiled a raft of new green commitments, including plans to double its internal company carbon price, as it set out its "tech-first" approach to tackling climate change and delivering a "sustainable, just and prosperous future". The software giant said it will hike its internal carbon fee to $15 per metric tonne on CO2 emissions from its core business, including electricity consumption and staff air travel, with the funds raised from the levy reinvested in green measures such as energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, and carbon offsets. Microsoft first introduced an internal pollution price in 2012 at around $7-8 per tonne, and in 2015 estimated the measure had delivered $10m in annual energy savings. The tax has also slashed annual emissions by 7.5 million metric tonnes since its inception, and helped fund 10.2 billion kWh of renewable energy. The multibillion dollar company also announced plans to join the Climate Leadership Council, the broad coalition of major corporates set up in 2017 to lobby for a federal carbon tax on CO2 emissions in the US. Under the proposals, revenues raised would be […]

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