Press Release
April 26, 2016
Contact: Laura Rehrmann, press@c2es.org, 703-516-4146
Microsoft joins C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council
WASHINGTON — The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) announced today that Microsoft Corp. has joined the C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council and its efforts to address the world’s climate and energy challenges.
“Microsoft has been a proven leader in addressing climate change,” said C2ES President Bob Perciasepe. “By setting an internal price on carbon, improving energy efficiency, expanding its use of green power, and by working with its customers and partners to leverage technology and data to reduce energy and resource use broadly, Microsoft is setting a strong example for others to follow.”
The center’s Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC), which first formed in 1998, is the largest U.S.-based association of companies solely devoted to climate-related policy and corporate strategies. The council contains mainly Fortune 500 companies representing a diverse group of industries with combined revenues of over $2 trillion and more than 3.5 million employees.
“Individually and collectively, these companies are demonstrating that it is possible to take action to address energy and climate challenges while maintaining competitive excellence,” Perciasepe said.
Microsoft’s global operations have been 100 percent carbon neutral since June 2012. This has been achieved through increased operational efficiency, investments in renewable energy, and through an internal carbon fee that holds business groups accountable for their carbon emissions. In the first three years of the fee, Microsoft reduced its company-wide emissions by 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e), purchased more than 10 billion kilowatt hours of green power, and reached more than 6 million people through the purchase of carbon offsets from community projects around the world.
“Our partnership with C2ES is a reflection of our longstanding environmental commitment,” said Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft. “We believe that technology can empower people and organizations worldwide to achieve a more sustainable future. We look forward to engaging with C2ES and other businesses in the BELC to discover and implement innovative solutions to transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future for our planet.”
More on the C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council.
C2ES and Microsoft host a discussion on Wednesday, April 27, 8:30-10 a.m. EDT, Beyond Paris: From Agreement to Action on Climate Change.
About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting strong policy and action to address our climate and energy challenges. Learn more at www.c2es.org.
About Microsoft: Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.