Microsoft Sustainability Microsoft\'s Sustainability Performance

Microsoft Sustainability

Microsoft's Sustainability Performance

As in almost any discussion on the subject of the Microsoft Corporation, consideration of its record on sustainability provides us with a mixed outlook. Certainly, the company has a vaunted reputation for dedicating funds and resources to positive corporate citizenship. According to Environmental Leader (2009), "it's estimated that Microsoft spends up to $15 million annually on PR support for its CSR efforts." (EL, 1) This is because Microsoft, as well its primary charitable appendage in the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, have considered PR to be one of the more effective ways of proliferating its environmental and charitable values to other parts of the corporate world.

This is a claim that is reinforced by its performance in meeting certain sustainability objectives and levels of contribution as per its own projected goals. Accordingly, Microsoft has spent considerable sums of money both on the proliferation of environmental improvement efforts and on the degree to which its own technological innovations reflect aims at greener production, waste and energy consumption. Accordingly, Schwartz (2010) reports that "Microsoft excels in the sustainability arena, with concrete goals including a plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% compared to 2007 levels by 2012, a plan to phase out the use of phthalate plasticizers and BFR (brominated flame retardants) from all hardware products by the end of this year, and the expansion of greenhouse gas reporting for the company's direct material supply chain." (p. 1)

All evidence suggests that Microsoft continues to dedicate considerable resources to constantly improving its own compliance to environmental standards. And quite to this point, Bill Gates has constantly been a visible and active figure in the world of philanthropy. Most reports document a continually evolving reputation for donation to worthy causes such as the improvement of sustainability efforts. Accordingly, Hillis (2007) reports that "Gates -- the world's richest man with holdings in Microsoft worth about $68 billion as of Wednesday -- has also stepped up the pace of charitable donations in recent months. Contributions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation set up by Gates and his wife top $20 billion." (Hillis, 1)

As indicated though, Microsoft's performance in the area of sustainability is not a simple black-out-white outlook. Quite to the contrary, its political activity seems almost counterintuitive to the actions the company has taken to improve its own achievement of sustainability. Namely, Schwartz reports the software giant to have fallen short of the expectations of major environmental groups such as Greenpeace for failing to use its enormous influence to push policymakers toward more aggressive regulatory changes. While Microsoft can afford to invest in renewable and sustainable technologies, without a major change in policy legislation and corporate culture, many smaller firms cannot afford this type of transformation.

Still, it must be said that Microsoft is a major innovator in this area, and has provided myriad examples to other firms of ways to connection this type of sustainability to economic success. So is this demonstrated with its Hohm program. Accordingly, the Microsoft Corporation (2009) describes a program with which "you can better understand your home energy usage, get recommendations to conserve energy and start saving.