Microsoft's emissions rose 25% year‑over‑year, reaching 20 million tons of CO₂ equivalent in 2025, as AI‑driven datacenter construction expanded its infrastructure. The company said it matched its entire electricity consumption with renewable energy for the year, but the increase in greenhouse gas emissions was driven primarily by new datacenter facilities.

The 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report, released by Microsoft, notes that rapid AI adoption is reshaping technology and that the firm views these dynamics as a mandate to lead differently. In 2020 the company set a goal to become carbon‑negative by 2030; emissions were 13 million tons in 2020 and rose to 20 million tons in 2025, with the report estimating that without its existing reduction measures emissions would be 34 million tons.

Scope 3 emissions remain the largest component of Microsoft’s carbon footprint, while Scope 2 emissions, from purchased energy, contributed 13 percent of total emissions in 2025, up from 2 percent in 2024. The report also highlights water use, stating that facilities achieved a 25 percent reduction in water usage effectiveness since 2022. Global water withdrawal in 2025 totaled 13,266 million liters and consumption was 8,170 million liters; for the first time the company returned more water than it withdrew, with 14,278 million liters replenished.

Microsoft’s Circular Centers program reused 92 percent of decommissioned servers and components, and the firm experimented with low‑carbon concrete mixes and wood‑based construction, which it says have a carbon footprint about 65 percent lower than traditional methods. The company has not responded to inquiries about how the emissions increase will affect its 2030 carbon‑negative target.