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How sustainable is MSN ?

MSN & sustainability


MSN

4 out of 13

Sustainability summary

Brand owner: Microsoft Corporation
Head office: Redmond, WA, USA
Sector: Websites
Categories : 
Free Tags: News

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MSN sustainability score report

Last edited: 11 August 2012 by Mario
Last reviewed: 11 August 2012 by Mario

Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions

3 out of 10
1. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions ? Microsoft (parent company of MSN) has taken several policy measures to reduce its carbon emissions, such as improving the energy efficiency of its operating systems. Source
2. Has the brand (company) published the annual carbon-footprint of its ‘own operations’ including the energy used in the data centers? Microsoft discloses its CO2 footprints for 2009 and 2010 on its website. Source
3. Has the brand (company) already reduced or compensated the carbon footprint of its own operations by at least 10% in the last 5 years? Microsoft's CO2 footpint has increased from 1.299.736 metric tons of CO2 in 2009 to 1.502.736 metric tons of CO2 in 2010, which represents an increasement of 15%. Source
4. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce the carbon footprint of its 'own operations' by at least 20% within the next 5 years? Microsoft aims to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 30% per unit of revenue from 2007 to 2012. However, Micosoft does not communicate an absolute reduction target. Source
5. Is at least 10% of the electricity used by the brand (company) generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy? Microsoft uses renewable energy from additional sources, but does not communicate what percentage on total energy use this represents (click Becoming Carbon Neutral). Source
6. Is at least 25% of the electricity used by the brand (company) generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy? See remark for climate change question 5. Source
7. Is at least 50% of the electricity used by the brand (company) generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy? See remark for climate change question 5. Source
8. Is at least 100% of the electricity used by the brand (company) generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy? See remark for climate change question 5. Source
9. Is the overall average Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) of the data center(s) below 1,5? In 2011 Microsoft's PUE was 1.4 across all cloud infrastructure properties (see p. 7). Microsoft strives to construct new data centers that average 1.125 in PUE. Source
10. Is the overall average Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) of the data center(s) below 1,25? See remark for climate change question 7. Source

Questions about Environmental Policy

1 out of 2
1. Does the brand (company) have a corporate policy for environmentally responsible disposal of electronic waste? Microsoft (parent company of MSN) supports WEEE and the RoHS and Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR). Also, the company states that "IPR should at a minimum enjoy parity of esteem within legislation with other responsibility models". However, Microsoft does not further explain its own policy for responsible disposal of e-waste. Source
2. Does the brand have a policy to seek out suppliers and/or service providers that conduct their business in environmentally responsible ways and does the brand provide concrete examples of this policy? All Microsoft Vendors "must - without limitation" eg endeavor to reduce or eliminate waste of all types and identify the chemicals or other materials being released that pose a threat to the environment (see vendor Code of Conduct page 4). Also, Microsoft has set up a purchasing policy to only buy computers that meet the Energy Star requirements. Source

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

0 out of 1
1. Does the brand have a policy to seek out suppliers and/or service providers who conduct their business with socially responsible and/or fair trade principles and does the brand provide concrete examples of this policy? Microsoft (parent company of MSN) does not explicitly state that it seeks out and purchase social/fairtrade products. Source