MICROSOFT
TOP 10 – SUSTAINABLE AI COMPANIES
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Mapping the future of our forests with Microsoft AI
CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER: MELANIE NAKAGAWA FOUNDED: 1975 EMPLOYEES: 220,000 HEADQUARTERS: WASHINGTON, US
Microsoft’ s Phi family champions small language models that deliver useful results with less compute. Using right-sized models lowers electricity per task and enables more work to happen efficiently at the edge or on modest servers.
Azure now runs Microsoft’ s own AI accelerator( Maia 100) alongside optimised CPUs, engineered for production model serving rather than brute force. Purpose-built chips let Microsoft tune performance per watt at system level, not just on individual servers.
Microsoft is rolling out liquid-cooling in traditionally air-cooled facilities to reduce the extra power spent on fans and chillers. Its next-generation data centres are designed for zerowater cooling in normal operation, using closed-loop systems that recirculate coolant rather than consuming freshwater.
“ Building the AI economy requires infrastructure, and we’ re doing it with sustainability and local communities in mind,” says Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft, on LinkedIn.
42 November 2025