COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND–Microsoft’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased 23.4 percent compared to its 2020 baseline – the same year the tech giant announced its goal to become carbon negative by 2030. The company’s 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report attributes this increase to the expansion of AI data centers during the 2024 fiscal year.
Some might consider it ironic that Microsoft was a session partner at NYC Climate Week, the largest annual event addressing climate change. Melissa Aronczyk, a professor of Media Studies at Rutgers University, considers it a branding problem.
“Microsoft wants to make sure we are still associating their brand with climate action and sustainability in our minds,” said Aronczyk. “They want us to be thinking ‘Microsoft and sustainability’, not ‘Microsoft and climate disaster.’”
On September 26th, Aronczyk spoke to CSI students about how major carbon-emitters brand themselves as environmentally conscious. She explains how many electric energy and fossil fuel companies hire public relations firms to associate their brand with sustainability and clean energy, as well as sponsor events like Climate Week.
