In Microsoft’s 2022 sustainability report the company stated it “is deeply committed to using our voice to influence sustainability policies around the world” and subsequently published two ambitious policy briefs.
Companies need strong climate policy to achieve their own sustainability goals. Historically, government policies have played a big part in driving down the costs of wind, solar, batteries, and EVs. Government funding of R&D has been vital in the early stages of each of these. Policies like Renewable Portfolio Standards, Feed-In Tariffs, and clean car mandates have driven faster deployment of clean tech – and growth in deployment has driven down costs.
During the battle over the Inflation Reduction Act, Bill Gates argued that the private sector should work in partnership with the government to solve the climate crisis. At a New York Times Climate Forward event Brad Smith was asked what effective corporate leadership looks like. He explicitly mentioned the need for policy to accelerate progress.
For a deeper dive on what Microsoft could do read Bill Weihl’s GreenBiz column about Why Microsoft is a Company to Watch on Climate Policy.