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Microsoft revealed a series of water-related sustainability milestones, including announcing that it became “water positive” […]]
Microsoft Hits Water Positive Target 5 Years Ahead of 2030 Goal – ESG Today
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Microsoft Hits Water Positive Target 5 Years Ahead of 2030 Goal
Mark Segal
June 25, 2026
Microsoft revealed a series of water-related sustainability milestones, including announcing that it became “water positive” in 2025, replenishing more water than it withdrew across its global operations for the year. The achievement comes several years ahead of its 2030 goal, set by the company in 2020.
The announcement comes as tech companies are coming under increasing pressure to ease concerns about the local water and energy impact of their rapidly expanding datacenter footprints – in recent weeks, both Google and Amazon have announced pledges and milestones towards their own water positive goals as well.
In a post announcing the water milestone, Judy Priest, CVP and CTO of Cloud Operations & Innovation and Steve Solomon, VP Datacenter Engineering at Microsoft, said:
“As demand for cloud and AI services continues to grow, datacenters are becoming more essential than ever. Communities also want to better understand how this infrastructure affects local resources, particularly water.”
In addition to the water positive achievement, Microsoft also revealed that it has passed the halfway mark towards its target of a 40% improvement in datacenter water-use intensity (WUE) by 2030, on a 2022 basis, with the company reaching 25% reduction in WUE in 2025.
Microsoft outlined a series of initiatives it has pursued in order to reach its water goals, particularly focused on innovation and advancements in cooling technologies, which the company said has enabled it to improve WUE by nearly 90% since its first generation of datacenters in the early 2000s.
Among the key innovations was a new datacenter design announced by the company in 2024, which consumes zero water for cooling during operations, through the use of liquid cooling technologies recycle water through a closed loop in which water filled into the system when the data center is under construction, continually circulated between servers and chillers to dissipate heat without requiring a fresh water supply.
Other initiatives highlighted by the company include the use of air cooling with evaporative assist, as well as the use of recycled, reused and non-potable water.
Priest and Solomon added:
“As water challenges become increasingly complex around the world, Microsoft remains deeply committed to protecting water as a vital natural resource. We continue to advance datacenter innovations that reduce water use intensity while supporting the growing performance demands of cloud and AI services.”
Mark founded ESG Today following a 20 year career in investment management and research. Prior to founding ESG Today, Mark worked at Delaney Capital Management (DCM) in Toronto, Canada, most recently as the firm’s head of U.S. equities. While at DCM, Mark was part of the firm’s ESG team, responsible for evaluating and tracking the sustainability factors impacting portfolio companies, and assessing the suitability of companies for portfolio inclusion. Mark also spent several years in the sell-side research industry, covering the technology and services sectors. Mark holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York, a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.
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