In 2024, Microsoft constructed the first hybrid buildings in mass timber (especially cross-laminated timber or CLT), steel and concrete to house part of its datacenters.
According to Microsoft, this way of building is projected to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of the new datacenters by up to 65% compared to typical precast concrete. The use of CLT is part of a strategy to reduce Scope 3 emissions, i.e. value chain emissions which account for ore than 97% of the company’s total emissions, in a targeted manner.
Since 2020, Microsoft has secured over 34 GW in carbon-free renewable energy through contracts – 19 GW in 2024 alone.
The company has invested around US-$793 million in capital in new climate technologies and claims that it is the world’s biggest single buyer of carbon removal credits (over 30 million tonnes).
