Microsoft sustainability score: 39/100
Microsoft is a cloud computing, software, and digital services provider headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Incorporated in 1981 (its roots go back to a 1975 partnership), it operates across enterprise software (Azure, Microsoft 365), gaming (Xbox), and AI services.
More about Microsoft
FY2026 revenue was $331.8 billion with ~223,000 employees. The company is a major infrastructure backbone for enterprise and government workloads globally.
Founded 1981Head office Redmond, Washington, USStaff ~223,000 (FY2026)Revenue $331,839M revenue (FY2026)Website ↗
Microsoft's emissions rose 25% in FY2025 to 21.1 Mt CO2e, driven by data-centre construction: capital-goods emissions rose from 5.6 Mt to 9.0 Mt and Scope 3 is 86% of the total. It reports 100% renewable electricity matching, but As You Sow reports it holds nearly 60% of oil and gas cloud contracts, two of which exceed its entire footprint. The SBTi removed its net-zero commitment, and its plan relies heavily on carbon removal.
Microsoft scores 39/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified October 2026.
That places Microsoft joint 432nd of 934 companies scored, and joint 34th of 73 in SaaS / Digital Services.
What is Microsoft doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Energy Source (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Controversies & Red Flags (0/10, 2/10).
Where Microsoft lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling0/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is8/10Its own operations aren't shown to run on 100% renewable energy.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets4/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies2/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Microsoft's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Microsoft's score changed?
Microsoft's score has moved from 43 to 39 across 2 recorded reviews, down 4 points.
- 43 → 39-417 October 2026
Fortune 50 re-score (owner-approved batch 1, 2026-10-17)
- Scored 438 February 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Microsoft's score based on?
8 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
25% of them were published by Microsoft itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Deloitte & Touche LLP performed a review engagement on management's assertion related to the specified information presented in Section 1”
“ballooned to nearly 2.7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent last year from 258,217 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in FY2024”
“In 2020, we announced goals to become a carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste company by 2030.”
“Microsoft continues to work with SBTi and maintains a near-term SBTi-validated target that is aligned with the Paris Agreement.”
“just two of these contracts had a greater emissions impact than Microsoft's entire Scope 1 – 3 emissions”
“Microsoft limited the scope of its report to US-based industry associations”
“Virginia's Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) is requiring Microsoft pay $2.5 million for exceeding air quality standards last summer.”
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How does Microsoft compare with other saas / digital services companies?
Where Microsoft sits among saas / digital services peers.
Among the 73 major saas / digital services brands we've scored, Microsoft is tied =34th of 73, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in SaaS / Digital Services?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Microsoft.
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See the breakdown →Stripe publishes almost no corporate environmental data despite $5.1B revenue and 8,000 employees.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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