Microsoft and the environment

Company is working to create greener data centers and office workstations.

A shot of the cafeteria building at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. The company encourages employees to carpool or use public transit to reach its headquarters and other offices. (Photo: Courtesy of Microsoft)

Microsoft and the environment form a partnership that pivots largely on helping the software giant’s customers work efficiently while wasting less energy.

 

That approach translates into creating products for greener data centers and office workstations; refurbishing personal computers so they don’t end up in a landfill; and sharing management and workplace strategies with customers on reducing energy consumption. The company's internal practices are also increasingly environmentally-friendly.

 

Microsoft was a pioneer in the personal computing market; these days, millions of people around the world can’t imagine life without their computers or similar handheld devices.

 

But computers and the server farms that power the Internet are among the biggest consumers of power. As the world’s largest software company, Microsoft has made it a priority to help the IT world power down just a little bit.