Northern Virginia, USA – Microsoft is pioneering a new way of building its data centers by using cross-laminated timber (CLT), a sustainable and low-carbon substitute for conventional building materials, such as steel and concrete. That is part of the company’s bigger ambitions in areas of decarbonization and reducing environmental footprint of data facilities.
Embracing Less Embodied Carbon – Up to 65%
The adoption of CLT in the newly developed Microsoft data centers was a bold step towards reducing embodied carbon emissions related to building infrastructure. In comparison to traditional building systems, CLT reduces embodied carbon by up to 35% or even 65% at times, and therefore represents a fundamental aspect of the company’s strategy regarding sustainability.
CLT is a layered wood material that is fire-resistant and environmentally friendly for the place of concrete. Instead of burning, the wood material chars with natural insulation and adds to reducing reliance on high-emission building materials. To improve strength and resist water, Microsoft coats the top of the CLT with a thin layer of concrete so the materials perform well in datacenter environments.
This is an all-hands-on-deck task,” said Jim Hanna, leader of sustainability for Microsoft’s datacenters engineering team. “This represents an important step in reducing the carbon footprint of our data facilities and shows how sustainable construction practice can work at scale.”
Shepherding Microsoft’s Carbon Negative Goals
This is one of the most important initiatives that Microsoft has taken in its ambitious commitment to be carbon negative by 2030 and eliminate all historical emissions by 2050. The company has set a clear goal to lead the industry in sustainable construction, particularly in high-demand sectors like data centers, where environmental impact is normally high.
Moreover, by replacing materials that have high emission levels such as steel and concrete with low-carbon alternatives such as CLT, Microsoft is not only reaching its own internal goals for sustainability but is also shifting the industry benchmark. This directly contributes to the overarching reduction of Microsoft’s environmental footprint, showing how new building materials can be a key part of a company’s journey toward decarbonization.
At Microsoft, David Swanson, a structural engineer who works on the company’s datacenter team, adds, “We are constantly validating if these new materials work fine in the datacenter environment and ensuring they meet the demands of high safety, high durability, and high performance.”
$1 Billion Green Innovation End
The utilization of CLT in the firm forms part of the firm’s overall climate strategy. The Climate Innovation Fund provided by the firm finances breakthrough changes in low-carbon technologies and renewable energy solutions. So far, the firm has invested $761 million in groundbreaking initiatives such as the hydrogen-powered steel technologies, which decrease steel emissions by 95%.
What’s not so common is to see an investor like Microsoft provide capital and also sign a contract to buy the output. So, it’s an integrated approach to scaling up green technologies,” Brandon Middaugh, Manager of Climate Innovation Fund adds
With investments in transformative clean energy solutions and low-carbon materials, Microsoft is speeding up the development and commercial feasibility of sustainable building technologies. This builds market readiness, one of the key barriers to widespread adoption, by empowering solutions that can help other companies meet their own sustainability targets.
Building Market Momentum and Pushing Industry Boundaries
Waves are already making ripples in the construction and technology sectors by virtue of Microsoft’s progress in CLT, among many of its other green technologies. The scale and clout of the firm enable it to nudge suppliers and partners in the direction of sustainability and, thus, create a bit of momentum in the broader market for the industry’s shift.
Despite higher front-end costs, the leadership by Microsoft in testing and implementing low-carbon materials can lead to an industry-wide acceptance. Its success model can facilitate the wide adaptation of sustainable building practices generally, but applied particularly to high-emission sectors such as data centers that consume much energy and have huge environmental impacts.
We have to think of systems throughout the entire value chain of these materials, says Hanna, underlining every stage of material production and usage in the process of decreasing environmental impact. It’s more than building a data center-it is building a blueprint for sustainable construction in the future of all industries.
Looking Forward: The Road to Increased Use of Low-Carbon Building Materials
More generally, Microsoft’s approach to building out an environmentally friendly data center marks a new benchmark for the tech sector and beyond. The company is using sustainable materials such as CLT at the core of its data infrastructure, making strides toward its climate goals while showing how business scale and influence can be used to drive systemic change.
As demand for green construction continues to grow, it would be expected that Microsoft is already at the front of the pack in using material and climate innovations. Others will inevitably follow. Its actions put it on a path toward net-zero emissions, but they also show how businesses can lead the way in scaling up sustainable practices. With its Climate Innovation Fund and aggressive decarbonization targets, Microsoft is building the future of green technology and sustainable business practices.