MELANIE NAKAGAWA
TOP 10 – SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS IN TECHNOLOGY
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MELANIE NAKAGAWA
COMPANY: MICROSOFT
TITLE: CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
ROLE SINCE: 2024 TIME AT COMPANY: 4 YEARS
With a background in law, Melanie has served as Microsoft’ s Chief Sustainability Officer since 2023, following a role as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy under Joe Biden. Her career spans government, policy and investment, including the US State Department under Barack Obama, the Center on Global Energy Policy and Princeville Capital, where she focused on climate technology investment. At Microsoft, she oversees sustainability initiatives including the company’ s US $ 1bn
Climate Innovation Fund and waterpositive projects. Microsoft aims to become carbon negative by 2030, remove all historical carbon emissions by 2050, achieve zero waste and become water positive. Melanie also advocates for technology-led climate action, recognising AI’ s potential to develop and scale solutions for climate change. Her work includes advancing AI-driven sustainability tools such as Microsoft’ s Planetary Computer, alongside carbon capture and nature-based solutions.
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