Microsoft just moved closer to reaching its 2030 water-positive goal. The software giant's latest data center design won't rely on water cooling, Sustainability Magazine reported.
Removing cooling water from data centers is a significant advancement since such facilities have garnered negative attention for their extreme water waste. Arman Shehabi of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory told NPR, a mid-sized data center uses as much as 300,000 gallons of water daily — the equivalent usage of 1,000 American homes.
Microsoft revealed the new design in August 2024 and currently has 76 projects in 26 areas worldwide. The company pledged to replace more water than it consumes, and its initiatives can replenish over 100 million cubic meters of water in their lifetime, Sustainability Magazine reported.
The tech company has taken its water conservation further through its Climate Innovation Fund, by designating $45 million to create more innovative water solutions. Its advocacy has involved partnerships with organizations like the Water Reuse Association's Coalition for Water Recycling and Water Europe.
As Microsoft's chief sustainability officer, Melanie Nakagawa, said, these programs and facility upgrades are "about creating lasting impact." When companies like Microsoft and organizations at all levels make real eco-friendly efforts and not just greenwashing marketing, it can create measurable change to protect an environment overloaded with pollution and at risk of losing finite elements like fresh water.
With clean water — an essential element for all life — people and animals can drink, swim, and forage for aquatic food safely. That's why the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program in Alabama uses dogs to detect untreated wastewater. Water conservation efforts in NYC have started to pay off. On Valentine's Day, short-beaked dolphins surprised NYC commuters near Franklin D. Roosevelt East River — a waterway that, despite pollution, is "the cleanest it's been in a century."
Learn more about how you can support eco-friendly initiatives by your favorite brands, including AE Global's collaboration with rePurpose Global to tackle plastic waste. M&Ms, Skittles, and Starburst joined with Berry Global to begin using 100% recycled plastic in their candy jars.
Reducing plastic waste also helps water conservation since so many microplastics end up in oceans and other waterways, posing a threat to toxin-free hydration and a choking and entanglement hazard to wildlife.
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