Microsoft started 2020 with a bold plan: become carbon negative by 2030. Now it's announced a new coalition of global companies with the goal of catalyzing the shift away from fossil fuels.
"This has to be about much more than just Microsoft," Lucas Joppa, chief environmental officer at Microsoft, told Cheddar. "This has to be about leading companies across the private sector coming together to work on this challenge."
The industry and continent-spanning coalition, dubbed Transform to Net Zero, includes Maersk, Danone, Mercedes-Benz AG, Microsoft, Natura & Co, Nike, Starbucks, Unilever, and Wipro.
"What we're focusing on is going beyond making commitments," he said. "We need all companies to make meaningful, significant climate commitments. But those of us that have made those commitments, now it's time to get to work."
One shared goal of the group will be to develop playbooks based on their experiences decarbonizing, which they can then share with other companies unsure of how to proceed.
Microsoft's short-term goal is to remove 1 million metric tons of carbon from the environment within the year. It began the process this week by issuing what it calls a "groundbreaking" request for a proposal to source technology and nature-based carbon removal solutions from other firms.
Another piece of Microsoft's climate plan is switching its data centers to renewable energy sources. The company is partnering with Sol Systems, energy developer and investor, to build that capacity in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.
This will be the first major investment from the company's $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund that launched in January.
The partnership aims to add 500 megawatts to Microsoft's renewable energy portfolio, which already has approximately 1.9 gigawatts, according to Joppa. Microsoft says 500 megawatts would provide enough energy to power 70,000 U.S. homes.
Joppa said Microsoft is shooting for 100 percent renewable energy by 2025.
As Microsoft attempts to drive change in the corporate sector, Joppa is still banking on the public sector to step up with new regulations to combat climate change.
"It can't just be about us," Joppa said. "I believe that we need a much more level playing field. We need everybody to be required and incentivized to go and operate in this space, to move everybody's business practices to net zero by 2050. Ultimately we're going to need regulation and policy to get us there."
Ford CFO John Lawler joined Cheddar News to talk about the auto giant's Q1 earnings report that beat on revenue and EPS. Despite the good numbers, Lawler spoke to challenges Ford had to navigate. "We also see the continued disruption to the supply chain impacting our production, and that hit us in the first quarter as well. So it kept us from having an even stronger quarter," he said. Lawler noted that chip shortages leading to the supply constraints should ease up throughout the year.
Tech giant Microsoft won a military contract for the production of its IVAS (integrated visual augmentation system) combat goggles, based on its HoloLens ARG tech, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years. However, the Pentagon is now saying that the device "has not yet demonstrated the capability to serve as a fighting goggle," and that the Army made mistakes in the program's initial stages by not clearly describing minimum performance standards. While testing continues, concerns have grown outside of the Defense Department to Congress and even within Microsoft itself. Cheddar's Ken Buffa takes a deeper look at the possible boondoggle.
U.S. stocks fell sharply to close Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.95% and hitting a new one-year low. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy for Optimal Capital, joins Cheddar News to discuss her reaction to how markets closed the session, and to break down Q3 2022 earnings from Microsoft. "Netflix was sort of the big warning, and I think Big Tech was down today in anticipation of these earnings," she says.
With Netflix losing 200,000 subscribers in one quarter, and CNN+ shutting down just weeks after launch, the streaming industry is in a place of uncertainty. Hundreds of people who once thought they had steady jobs now face potential unemployment as streamers figure out how to navigate the constantly changing landscape. Greg Martin, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the state of streaming, its troubles, and how its impacting hundreds of workers.
With mask mandates lifted across various parts of the country, healthy indoor air quality in public spaces is more crucial than ever before. According to the CDC, proper ventilation, in addition to other preventative measures, is instrumental to preventing the rapid spread of covid-19 indoors. As the push for higher air quality ramps up, AtmosAir is providing a high-tech solution for cleaner, greener air indoors. Steve Levine, CEO, AtmosAir, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss.
