Microsoft has announced the general availability of its Emissions Impact Dashboard for Azure, which will enable its cloud computing customers to track, report, analyze and reduce their carbon emissions.
According to Microsoft, the dashboard is designed to help customers gather meaningful data in order to give businesses actionable insight that they will be able to use to make more informed, data-driven decisions about sustainable computing.
“The Emissions Impact Dashboard is part of our commitment to address our own environmental impact and help our customers do the same,” notes Kees Hertogh, General Manager, Global Industry Product Marketing, at Microsoft.
Hertogh adds that Microsoft first introduced the Emissions Impact Dashboard in January 2020 in the form of the Microsoft Sustainability Calculator.
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In the post, Hertogh explains that the Emissions Impact Dashboard is designed to offer a transparent look into the greenhouse gas emissions associated with using Microsoft’s cloud services, which the company says will enable users to gain a better understanding of the root causes of emissions.
Explaining the layout of the dashboard, he adds that it will help businesses measure the impact of their cloud usage and their carbon footprint, enabling them to drill down into emissions by month, service, and datacenter region.
“Over the past year, we’ve strengthened features in the Emissions Impact Dashboard, such as the calculation of Scope 3 emissions associated with Microsoft cloud usage. These emissions are indirect and occur across the product value chain—from materials extraction and manufacturing to transport, usage, and hardware disposal,” Hertogh concludes.
Interestingly, Microsoft’s announcement comes days after Google Cloud announced a similar initiative, with the launch of several new tools to help its customers measure and eventually reduce the environmental impact of their cloud operations.
