managers optimise operations by integrating traditional building management systems with modern sensors and end-user productivity tools. Its virtual replications of the physical environment enable customers to model the relationships between people, places and devices using a digital twin. And Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue Enterprise Management solution analyses building data to find areas for improved performance. The Cloud for Sustainability is only the tip of Microsoft’s sustainability iceberg, though. Much of its own sustainability efforts and those of its partners centre around other cloud solutions, including Microsoft Azure. For example, energy company BP uses Microsoft’s Intelligent Data Platform and Azure Synapse to consolidate data from multiple cloud and on-premises sources, accelerate production of data products, and train artificial intelligence and machine learning models. So far, this has helped the company track and manage carbon emissions and supports its ambition to become a net-zero business by 2050 or sooner. While the cloud is central to the future of sustainability for many organisations worldwide, its true value lies in its data capabilities, which Taylor and Brinton believe will be increasingly important moving forward. “To stabilise our future and build more quickly toward a global net-zero carbon economy, organisations of all types, sizes and sectors are facing the need to transform common practices,” they wrote. “This includes more effectively managing their environmental footprint, embedding sustainability through their organisations and value chains, and making strategic business investments that drive value. And this starts with solving the data problem.” 55 We asked a selection of Microsoft partners how they are using the firm’s cloud technologies to help customers drive environmentally sustainable business operations, while protecting profits Partner perspectives COV E R S TOR Y “Akamai believes it's time for the technology industry to use advancements and efficiencies to take shared responsibility for our role in climate change. If you peek behind the curtain of the cloud, you will find thousands of data centres that are estimated to account for approximately one per cent of global electricity demand. Akamai is working closely with our data centre partners to power our operations with renewable energy and ensure our software is designed to make more efficient use of that hardware by streamlining and adapting work whenever we can.” Mike Mattera Director, Corporate Sustainability, Akamai
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