Microsoft recognized in the U.S. and Japan for Environmental Stewardship

| Josh Henretig

japanaward
Nobuteru Ishihara, Minister of the Environment, with Kazushi Okabe, Microsoft Japan’s Corporate Communications Lead and Environmental Sustainability Lead.

This evening, Microsoft will receive an award from Washington State University’s “Washington Industrial Energy Leaders” for our work around energy-smart buildings. The awards honor companies in Washington State that are making exceptional progress towards improved energy efficiency.

This award recognizes Microsoft for its leadership as a company that has influenced awareness of energy efficiency inside and outside its walls by sharing its knowledge and progress with the broader industry. The award ceremony will be held at the Washington State Capital where each recipient will receive awards from Governor Jay Inslee.

Microsoft’s environmental initiatives are not only being recognized in the U.S. In fact our Japan team recently received high honors for its environmental protection work as well. Last week, our Microsoft Japan team received the “Minister of the Environment Award for Global Warming Prevention Activity 2013” from The Ministry of Environment (MoE). The awards are given to honor commercial companies, local government, education sector, NPO, communities and individuals that have made significant contributions toward preventing global warming.

This award recognizes Microsoft Japan’s efforts to address energy and environmental challenges, from its highly-efficient corporate office, to efficiency measures on the desktop, to advances in Green IT and eco-friendly agriculture.

The award ceremony was held on December 4 with Nobuteru Ishihara, Minister of the Environment. This award has been given annually since 1998. December is designated by the Japanese government as Global Warming Prevention Month as part of its effort to promote countermeasures against global warming. This year, 41 groups and five individuals received this award. Microsoft Japan is the only winner as a foreign-capital company across all industries.

Congratulations to the team in Japan for this achievement and their hard work improving Microsoft’s local impact, and congratulations as well to our Real Estate & Facilities team in Redmond, WA for their hard work improving energy efficiency.

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