Environmental sustainability is at the core of our businesses practices around the world. As we strive to reduce the impact of our own operations and products, green efforts made by our offices around the world are helping us elevate our position as a sustainability leader in the global technology sector.
Earlier this month Microsoft’s India offices participated in Green Office Week, which included four days of presentations on everyday actions Microsoft India employees could take to contribute to the company’s sustainability efforts. The week culminated with employees making ‘green’ resolutions for the coming year.
Presentations throughout the week included primers on how employees can ‘go paperless,’ save electricity, properly dispose of e-waste and conserve water. While these are sustainability issues on a global basis, some of them are particularly relevant issues in India. For instance, in 2013 the anticipated peak shortage in India will be 10.6 percent, according to India’s Central Electricity Authority. With greater demand for energy than supply, saving electricity is a paramount issue in India. At the same time, becoming more energy efficient in India means that the remaining energy capacity reduces pressure on the electricity grid and helps make power available for people who need it. And in addition to energy efficiency efforts, India is fast at work building an infrastructure of renewable energy. Recently a company intending to build a power plant running on city waste announced that it is planning a $200 million IPO, a sure sign that the future of India will include more renewable energy.
Participating in Green Office Week in India is just one of the many ways our employees contribute to Microsoft’s environmental sustainability efforts. For more information, check out our environmental sustainability and principles.