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Title: Chief Sustainability Officer Company: Microsoft Industry: Technology

With a background in law, Melanie has served as Microsoft’ s CSO since 2023, after a stint in the White House under President Joe Biden. Her experience includes positions at the US State Department under President Barack Obama, the Center on Global Energy Policy and Princeville Capital, an AI investment firm. Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and, by 2050, remove all historical emissions, achieve zero waste and become water positive. Its 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report highlights new cooling technologies that reduce water consumption, rainwater harvesting systems that reduce reliance on freshwater and a 25 % improvement in water-use efficiency since 2022. Microsoft replenished more than 14.2 million cubic metres of water, surpassing its global withdrawals for the first time and expanded watershed restoration projects. The US $ 1bn Climate Innovation Fund has turned US $ 800m in investment into US $ 12bn worth of projects.

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