Environmental compliance
Microsoft devices and packaging fulfill legal and government requirements for environmental compliance and ecofriendly performance.
Overview and approach
Every Microsoft device fulfills our strict environmental criteria which include, but are not limited to, compliance with all applicable legal requirements. We also require that our global manufacturing partners and vendors follow stringent environmental practices with respect to their facilities, operations, and the products they manufacture for us.
The sustainability of our products begins with their design. We are finding innovative solutions through design and development to reduce environmental impacts and address challenges across the product and packaging value chain. Ecodesign guides our approach, influencing our decisions from selecting materials to innovative designs enabling repair and recycling.
We apply the following tools and approaches to reduce impacts across the product lifecycle:
- Lifecycle assessments (LCAs) to guide sustainable design and manufacturing decisions.
- Select materials and design elements that increase circularity, including recycled and recyclable materials.
- Design for reliability and durability to keep products in use for as long as possible.
- Create solutions to increase repairability and serviceability.
- Choose design elements with lower manufacturing and carbon impact.
- Increase energy efficiency.
Microsoft is an EPEAT® Participating Manufacturer. As the EPEAT requirements become more rigorous, our products and operations are also evolving to meet more stringent standards. Our plan is for our products to meet the new EPEAT requirements at the Gold level. Surface registered products can be found on the EPEAT Registry.
EPEAT Registry
Environmental management system
Environmental and safety documentation
Our environmental principles
Microsoft Windows and Devices conducts its business in compliance with applicable laws and policies—striving to build sustainable products and protect the safety and health of our employees, customers, and the public. By integrating sound environmental principles into all aspects of our supply chain and manufacturing functions, Microsoft empowers every person and organization on the planet to achieve more while protecting our natural world.
Reduce, reuse, recover
Reduction and disposal of wastes
Sustainable products and packaging
Continually improve our performance
Responsibly source raw materials
Demonstrate responsibility and transparency
Lifecycle thinking
To understand the environmental impacts across the product lifecycle, we use product lifecycle assessment (LCA).
Product LCA is a science-based methodology that calculates the environmental impacts of all activities associated with the product lifecycle – from the extraction of raw materials through the activities of producing, using, transporting, and end-of-life treatment. Our LCA calculations are in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, complemented by ETSI TS 103 199 and ITU-T L.1410.
Our LCA results represent our best understanding of a product’s lifecycle environmental impacts at the time of LCA publication. LCAs are revised, as needed, to accommodate product changes, updates to underlying lifecycle inventory data, and improvements in LCA methodology.
LCA data guide design decisions to reduce the environmental impacts of our products. LCA tools enable us to compare the environmental impact of materials, processes, and components to enable our designers and engineers to make informed decisions during the planning, concept, design, and development phases.
To increase transparency and credibility with customers and stakeholders, we publish environmental data, including LCA results, for our Xbox consoles and Surface devices in our Ecoprofiles. Ecoprofiles are available on our website and provide carbon emissions and nonrenewable energy use over the lifetime of a product and identify the product’s material usage, energy consumption, ecolabels, product recycling, and other environmental attributes.
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The results of an LCA depend on the calculation method, scope, and assumptions used. Thus, assessments of different producers are not comparable even though general LCA standards are available. We use the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, complemented by ETSI TS 103 199 and ITU-T L.1410, as a framework for our calculations. Our LCA calculations include the entire lifecycle, from raw material acquisition through end-of-life disposal.
Over time, we evaluate different LCA methodologies, tools, and databases. As the LCAs, devices, and technologies are continuously evolving, our LCA results represent our best understanding of LCA impacts at the time of publication and are revised when needed.
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Our LCAs cover the product, its retail packaging, and its power supply unit, unless otherwise specified in the Ecoprofile. LCAs are cradle-to-grave, meaning that we include the entire lifecycle of the product: manufacturing, distribution to customer, product use, and end-of-life treatment. The manufacturing stage includes extraction of raw materials, upstream materials preparation, electronic component manufacturing, subassembly manufacturing and assembly, and final assembly. For our LCA calculations for Surface products, we assume that the products are in use for three years. In the calculations for Xbox consoles, we assume five years of use. The use phase accounts for both active and idle time usage (for example, when the device is energized but not in active use). For the transportation phase, both inbound and outbound logistics are included. The recycling phase calculations cover activities up to and including shredding of materials. The environmental impacts of other accessories are not included but may be reported separately. Software and hardware design impacts are captured in our corporate carbon footprint and excluded from the individual product LCA calculations.
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We apply EPEAT standards to our Surface devices. EPEAT is the leading global ecolabel for the IT sector, managed by the Green Electronics Council. The program requires independent verification of product and corporate eco-attributes. We are continuously working to improve the EPEAT registration level of our Devices. These ratings are used by customers to make purchasing decisions based on product and corporate environmental and social attributes. We track progress against EPEAT targets across our entire Surface portfolio. Surface registered products can be found on the EPEAT Registry.
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The Microsoft Environmental Management System (EMS) is certified by an independent third party to meet the ISO 14001 standard, which is an internationally recognized framework that establishes a process for entities to manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. Microsoft also requires its contract manufacturers and suppliers of critical components to have an EMS in place.Our ISO certificate can be found on the Environmental management system page.
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Ecoprofiles for Xbox consoles and Surface devices are located in our download center.
Compliance information, including Product Declarations of Conformity, our environmental compliance letter, REACH declaration, Energy Star documentation, MIL-STD-810 qualification, and safety information for our Devices can be found on our Product Environmental and Safety Documents page. You can search by product name, document type, or model number to access the relevant compliance information.
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Microsoft provides an annual EPEAT Report (PDF) summarizing labor and occupational, health, and safety audit results for Microsoft suppliers that produce or assemble Microsoft Surface Devices per criteria 4.10.1.1 and 4.10.1.2 of EPEAT Std IEEE Std 1680.1a™-2020.
Carbon emissions and waste reduction
A healthy society requires a healthy planet. Our strategy addresses two of the most pervasive challenges society faces: climate change and waste. These are material issues for Microsoft Window and Devices; we can have a significant positive impact by reducing end-to-end carbon emissions and waste across the lifecycle of our products.
Climate change
Microsoft has signed the United Nations’ 1.5-degree Business Ambition Pledge. In January 2020, Microsoft announced that it will be carbon negative by 2030. As part of this commitment, we will reduce our emissions by more than half across our business and supply chain. We have set a science-based target to reduce our Scope 3 carbon emissions. To reach our goals, we are focused on using carbon emission data, quantified by lifecycle assessments, to enable informed decision-making regarding the materials used, design, and manufacturing techniques to identify hot spots and reduce carbon emissions.
Waste commitment
On August 4, 2020, we announced ambitious goals to be zero waste by 2030 across our direct operations, products, and packaging. Taking a circular approach to materials management reduces waste and carbon emissions and keeps products and materials in use longer.
Our zero-waste goal addresses all solid waste generated across our direct waste footprint from operations to products and packaging. By 2030, we will achieve at least 90 percent diversion of solid waste from landfill and incineration in campuses and owned datacenters, 100 percent recyclable Microsoft Surface devices, Xbox consoles and accessories, and packaging (in OECD countries) and, at a minimum, 75 percent diversion of construction and demolition waste for all projects.
Electronics Management
Microsoft is a member of over 150 recycling programs worldwide, covering electronics, batteries, and packaging. Follow this link for more information - End-of-life management and recycling.
Carbon emissions from product transport
In Q1 FY21, Microsoft Devices Supply Chain adopted the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) methodology for measuring logistic activities and was officially validated by Smart Freight Centre. Microsoft measures and tracks the emissions for all global transportation movement across the Devices Supply Chain (inbound, outbound, reverse) across all modes according to the GLEC methodology. Our logistics activities include all modes of transport for the logistics across both inbound and outbound, of the Microsoft Devices business group. Note that we are continuing to explore the adoption of this standard as part of Microsoft’s corporate emissions reporting.
In FY22 Microsoft Devices Supply Chain set a target to reduce its inbound product transport emissions 14.5% compared to the FY20 baseline of 78,894 absolute metric tons CO2e. However, despite emission reduction initiatives in FY22, our absolute product transport emissions grew 4.6% YOY versus FY21 and 58% versus the FY20 baseline due to such factors as the growth of the business, launch of new products, and global supply chain and material constraints. FY22 inbound emissions from all modes of product transport were 125,031 absolute metric tons CO2e. Despite this growth, through FY22 we removed over 6,400 metric tons of CO2 from our footprint via global CO2 reduction initiatives, such as mode shifts, consolidation programs, shipment optimization, and waste reduction. To learn more, please refer to our Sustainability Report.
We continue to optimize our transportation network and continue to shift to lower CO2e emission modes of transport while maintaining our focus on net zero distribution opportunities. Microsoft is a member of EPA’s SmartWay initiative, and over 99% of Microsoft’s shipments moved with an approved SmartWay carrier during the last reporting period. Additionally, Microsoft has introduced a lower carbon shipping option to online consumers, allowing them to select ground shipping in support of reduced emissions.
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