Everyday is Earth Day in Real Estate

As a real estate professional, every day is Earth Day. It’s our chance to reaffirm our commitment to a healthier planet and advance solutions to combat climate change. By the very nature of our work and services, we have the opportunity and responsibility to drive change with respect to sustainability. This year, our real estate team is doubling down on our commitment to ensure that our actions are wide-reaching and our impact is long-lasting.

At Microsoft, we made two major sustainability announcements that needs support from our real estate team for success. Microsoft has committed to being carbon negative by 2030 and we are focused on preserving and protecting the biodiversity and health of the world’s ecosystems.

To support these ambitions, our real estate team makes big (and small) commitments daily to minimize our global footprint. From launching new global sustainability standards for the spaces we build to implementing operational sustainability plans across our nearly 600 sites, 2019 saw significant steps forward. In 2020, we’re committed to building even bolder solutions for a sustainable future.  

Microsoft has tracked our carbon emissions since 2007, and we have operated as a carbon-neutral company since 2012. This January we announced that we will be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975. Our real estate team is helping achieve this goal and has made big strides to get there. In 2019, our Redmond headquarters switched to 100 percent carbon-free, renewable electricity to power the majority of our headquarters. Going further, we are working to shift our global energy supply to 100 percent renewable for buildings and campuses by 2025. We are also taking steps to electrify our global campus operations vehicle fleet, nearly 1500 vehicles, by 2030. This is in addition to our continued investments in alternative transportation methods to reduce single-occupancy vehicle commutes.

We want to lead by example across our portfolio and are committing to LEED Gold (at a minimum) certification for all of our significant sites. As buildings are one of the largest contributors to carbon, we’re also working towards International Living Future Institute Zero Carbon certification and LEED Platinum certification for our Silicon Valley and Puget Sound campuses, upon completion.

In water-stressed regions, our strategy is to replace the water that our operations consume. In Silicon Valley, we are one of the first to tech companies to build a net-zero water campus, where 100 percent of the non-potable water comes from rainwater or recycled water. We have also invested globally to reduce our water use in water-stressed places like Johannesburg, Beijing and Herzliya. We are doing this through greywater, rainwater harvesting systems, and water condensers to meet particular needs of those offices. Additionally, we set global standards for water-efficient fixtures and have regulated the water flow rate of toilets, showerheads, faucets and urinals. These efforts are saving millions of liters of water per year.

Towards the end of 2016, our Puget Sound campus was certified a Zero Waste Campus for diverting at least 90 percent of our waste from landfills. This was a major milestone that led us to increase the number of our global sites that are aggressively managing the waste stream, are plastic free, and provide universal waste management for electronics, light bulbs and batteries. To further reduce waste, our global dining operations are focused on reducing food waste. By reducing the amount of food waste in landfills leads there is less production of greenhouse gases, particularly methane. To promote more use of durables in our Puget Sound offices, we have committed to installing dishwashers in all kitchenettes and break areas of our buildings going forward. For our construction projects, we aim to divert 75% of construction debris from landfills by identifying reuse or recycle options for materials on all projects. 

The newest focus in our sustainability strategy is ecosystems. Our real estate team is focused on reliably sourcing materials that promote the health of our employees and the ecosystems where we operate. With the average person spending 90 percent of their time indoors, it is important that our workplaces—from flooring to wall paint—are comprised of materials that are good for personal health and the planet. We are also invested in revitalizing and protecting our local ecosystems where we operate. Our new Silicon Valley Campus sits on 32 acres where we have designed the landscape to mimic the local ecosystem, supporting almost 50 native species and restoring local ecology and wetlands.

Your success, and that of your company, will depend on the care and thought you put into your sustainability strategy. As real estate professionals, all of us are environmental stewards, making everyday Earth Day.