As global sustainability continues to emerge as a critical concern, organisations face mounting pressure to acknowledge its importance and actively pursue transformative solutions that drive meaningful progress. Despite widespread recognition among executives that sustainability is essential for their companies – with 85% reporting that sustainability is strategically important – only a fraction have successfully integrated sustainable practices into their core business strategies.
With decades of helping companies and a relentless pursuit of innovation, Microsoft has made ambitious pledges to reduce its environmental footprint significantly. Through initiatives aimed at achieving carbon negativity, water positivity, and zero waste by 2030, Microsoft has solidified its position as a leader in the pursuit of sustainability and is determined to help businesses and organisations do the same.
Microsoft, with its extensive experience and expertise in promoting sustainable practices, is not working in isolation. It is actively engaged in collaborations with organisations and experts worldwide, inviting them to join the journey to establish robust frameworks, best practices, and science-based standards that guide sustainable decision-making and action.
Microsoft has taken a significant step forward, unveiling a suite of new data and AI solutions as part of its Cloud for Sustainability platform. These cutting-edge technologies, introduced at the AI for Sustainability event, are not just promises but practical tools designed to empower organisations in their transition from mere sustainability pledges to tangible, measurable progress. These include “faster environmental, social and governance (ESG) data analytics and insights, an AI assistant to help accelerate impactful decision-making and reporting, and other advanced capabilities — all designed to help organisations move the needle faster.”
In today’s article, we will explore Microsoft’s new data and AI solutions and how they can help organisations achieve their sustainability goals quicker.
Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability represents a new approach towards supporting organisations on their environmental responsibility and sustainability journey. This cloud-based solution serves as a dynamic ecosystem at its core, promoting collaboration and innovation to drive progress towards sustainability goals.
Microsoft is not resting on its laurels. In response to the ever-evolving needs of businesses striving for sustainability, we are continuously improving the capabilities of our solution. This involves the introduction of a diverse range of new data and AI solutions, aimed at revolutionising the approach and management of sustainability goals within enterprises.
Announced initially in May 2023, Microsoft Fabric is a comprehensive, end-to-end analytics Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that consolidates an organisation’s complete range of enterprise data, including critical ESG data. This platform equips teams to access data from diverse sources, employ AI-driven analytics tools to extract key insights, and integrate these insights into everyday applications to drive action and improve decision-making processes.
Currently available in preview, these solutions are designed to offer rapid access to insights and facilitate sustainability advancement. They feature a pre-configured ESG data model, connectors, and reporting capabilities. By integrating ESG data with Microsoft Fabric, organisations can transform vast volumes of sustainability data into meaningful insights and actionable progress, driving their sustainability initiatives forward.
Also in preview, the Copilot feature is a powerful tool that leverages advanced generative AI and natural language queries to expedite insights from data. Organisations can pose questions to Copilot, which analyses environmental data to identify reduction opportunities in areas such as carbon and water usage. Additionally, it aids in drafting sustainability reports, significantly reducing time and enabling resource allocation to other important tasks.
Another feature in preview, this offering provides an integrated and interactive AI model for in-depth analysis of calculated emissions data. It assists organisations in refining their data, identifying reduction opportunities, and making decisions based on historical trends and data anomalies.
Now widely available, this solution streamlines data collection from suppliers and offers a seamless and secure process for managing supplier data. It empowers organisations to conduct advanced analytics on ESG value chain data and uncover emissions reduction opportunities within their supply chain.
The recent additions to the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability platform are designed to make it easier for enterprises to make real progress in their sustainability efforts. These new features offer improved efficiency and accuracy in decision-making and reporting, as well as support for new business models and growth opportunities focused on sustainability.
Contact us today to learn more about leveraging the power of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability and take meaningful steps towards achieving your sustainability goals.
