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How Microsoft’s deal with a low-carbon cement startup will cut its data center emissions

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29 May, 2025

This post was originally published on Green Biz

Source: Green Biz

Microsoft, which usually leaves buying construction materials to its contractors, has signed a long-term contract to buy low-carbon cement by startup Sublime Systems. It will use a new form of environmental certificates related to that purchase to claim emissions reductions related to data center construction.

Under the deal, announced May 22, Microsoft will claim 622,500 metric tons of emissions reductions over a six-to-nine-year period against its Scope 3 footprint — which accounted for 96.5 percent of the technology company’s total footprint in its 2023 fiscal year. 

For perspective, Microsoft used 605,000 carbon credits that year to make its carbon neutral claim. It has also purchased credits for close to 20 million tons of carbon removal.

Microsoft plans to use Sublime’s cement in data centers, infrastructure and offices wherever geographically possible. Most cement is used within a few hundred miles of where it is produced. 

Microsoft’s Scope 3 footprint rose 31 percent between 2020 and 2024, largely because of data center expansion. Concrete and steel are carbon-intensive materials that together contribute 13 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. With much ado being made about the huge energy appetite of data centers that fuel artificial intelligence, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are all seeking ways to address their construction-related emissions.  

Sublime uses an electrochemical process instead of a combustion-driven kiln to manufacture a replacement for ordinary portland cement. The company, spun out of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has raised $200 million. That includes funding from venture capital firms including The Engine, Lowercarbon Capital and Energy Impact Partners, along with an $87 million award by the Department of Energy in 2024 — funding that so far has not been affected by the Trump administration’s shifting priorities.

“We see a big opportunity to both domesticate and modernize U.S. cement making,” said Sublime CEO and Co-founder Leah Ellis. The U.S. imports more than 20 percent of its cement, and Sublime’s technology could change that locus. Two factories in the Northeast have closed in the past 18 months because of outdated technologies. 

Microsoft is the anchor customer for Sublime’s first commercial facility being built in Holyoke, Massachusetts, slated to begin deliveries in 2028. One of the biggest construction companies in the Northeast, Suffolk, announced a $3 million investment on May 21 to buy cement from the factory.

“Sublime’s mission is no less than fundamentally reshaping a cornerstone of the global built environment landscape, and we are proud to support them through our capital, our network and our commitment to building a more sustainable world,” said Jit Kee Chin, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Suffolk’s investment arm, Suffolk Technologies.

Someone in a cement production factory
Bags of Sublime’s low-carbon cement.
Source: Mikhail Glabets Photography

Credits for low-carbon cement and steel

Terms of the Microsoft-Sublime deal weren’t disclosed, but the company is positioning the contract as a way to provide early demand signals for the startup’s first factory, which will produce about 30,000 tons of cement annually. “Microsoft is a market maker,” Ellis said.  

Sublime’s first commercial deliveries are slated for 2028; the startup hopes to support a full-scale facility with a capacity of 1 million tons potentially by 2030, she said.

Microsoft is using a new category of environmental attribute certificate (EAC) for concrete and steel to justify its investment. The certificates are legal mechanisms companies use to calculate emissions reductions. One common type is renewable energy certificates, which many businesses use to offset emissions from purchased electricity. 

Environmental attribute certificates are used to spur investments in technologies that decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors including aviation, freight rail and maritime shipping. The new ones that will be issued under the Microsoft-Sublime deal are based on a methodology Microsoft developed with carbon management consulting firm Carbon Direct.

“While we prioritize deploying physical material whenever possible, this EAC approach helps both buyers and sellers overcome geographic, supply chain, cost and other barriers that make it challenging to introduce new technologies,” said Katie Ross, director of carbon reduction strategy and market development at Microsoft.

Goal: Scale availability of low-carbon cement

Microsoft’s purchases will be independently verified, although the details of how that will happen haven’t yet been determined, said A.J. Simon, director of industrial decarbonization at Carbon Direct. The certificates will be managed by a book and claim system, similar to what’s in place for sustainable aviation fuel.

The methodology published as a guide for other companies recommends that certificates be vetted using seven criteria, such as whether purchases will complement direct procurement of steel, cement and concrete. 

“The intention is to set high-integrity standards for commodity EACs that will improve confidence in this mechanism,” Simon said. “The thresholds for quality in the report reflect Microsoft’s decarbonization; other companies may decide to weight the criteria differently.”

The prepurchase commitments made possible by the EACs act as accelerants for startups, Ellis said. Despite uncertain macroeconomic conditions, Sublime isn’t making big adjustments, and it’s working closely with three of the world’s largest cement producers — Holcim, Amrize and CRH — to focus on the long term. “This isn’t an industry that pivots quickly,” Ellis said.

[Connect with more than 3,500 professionals decarbonizing and future-proofing their organizations and supply chains through climate technologies at VERGE, Oct. 28-30, San Jose.]

The post How Microsoft’s deal with a low-carbon cement startup will cut its data center emissions appeared first on Trellis.

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Taking the electronic pulse of the circular economy

Taking the electronic pulse of the circular economy

In June, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 E-Waste World, Battery Recycling, Metal Recycling, and ITAD & Circular Electronics Conference & Expo events in Frankfurt, Germany.

Speaking in the ITAD & Circular Electronics track on a panel with global Circular Economy leaders from Foxway Group, ERI and HP, we explored the evolving role of IT asset disposition (ITAD) and opportunities in the circular electronics economy.

The event’s focus on advancing circular economy goals and reducing environmental impact delivered a series of insights and learnings. From this assembly of international expertise across 75+ countries, here are some points from the presentations that stood out for me:

1. Environmental impact of the digital economy

Digitalisation has a heavy material footprint in the production phase, and lifecycle thinking needs to guide every product decision. Consider that 81% of the energy a laptop uses in its lifetime is consumed during manufacture (1 tonne in manufacture is equal to 10,000 tonnes of CO2) and laptops are typically refreshed or replaced by companies every 3–4 years.

From 2018 to 2023, the average number of devices and connections per capita in the world increased by 50% (2.4 to 3.6). In North America (8.2 to 13.4) and Western Europe (5.6 to 9.4), this almost doubled. In 1960, only 10 periodic table elements were used to make phones. In 1990, 27 elements were used and now over 60 elements are used to build the smartphones that we have become so reliant on.

A key challenge is that low-carbon and digital technologies largely compete for the same minerals. Material resource extraction could increase 60% between 2020 and 2060, while demand for lithium, cobalt and graphite is expected to rise by 500% until 2050.

High growth in ICT demand and Internet requires more attention to the environmental footprint of the digital economy. Energy consumption of data centres is expected to more than double by 2026. The electronics industry accounts for over 4% of global GHG — and digitalisation-related waste is growing, with skewed impacts on developing countries.

E-waste is rising five times faster than recycling — 1 tonne of e-waste has a carbon footprint of 2 tonnes. Today’s solution? ‘Bury it or burn it.’ In terms of spent emissions, waste and the costs associated with end-of-life liabilities, PCBAs (printed circuit board assembly) cost us enormously — they generally achieve 3–5% recyclability (75% of CO2 in PCBAs is from components).

2. Regulating circularity in electronics

There is good momentum across jurisdictions in right-to-repair, design and labelling regulations; recycling targets; and voluntary frameworks on circularity and eco-design.

The EU is at the forefront. EU legislation is lifting the ICT aftermarket, providing new opportunities for IT asset disposition (ITAD) businesses. To get a sense, the global market for electronics recycling is estimated to grow from $37 billion to $108 billion (2022–2030). The value of refurbished electronics is estimated to increase from $85.9 billion to $262.2 billion (2022–2032). Strikingly, 40% of companies do not have a formal ITAD strategy in place.

Significantly, the EU is rethinking its Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management targets, aligned with upcoming circularity and WEEE legislation, as part of efforts to foster the circular economy. A more robust and realistic circularity-driven approach to setting collection targets would better reflect various factors including long lifespans of electronic products and market fluctuations.

Australia and New Zealand lag the EU’s comprehensive e-waste mandated frameworks. The lack of a systematic approach results in environmental degradation and missed positioning opportunities for businesses in the circular economy. While Australia’s Senate inquiry into waste reduction and recycling recommended legislating a full circular economy framework — including for imported and local product design, financial incentives and regulatory enforcement, New Zealand remains the only OECD country without a national scheme to manage e-waste.

3. Extending product lifecycles

Along with data security and digital tools, reuse was a key theme in the ITAD & Circular Electronics track of the conference. The sustainable tech company that I lead, Greenbox, recognises that reuse is the simplest circular strategy. Devices that are still functional undergo refurbishment and are reintroduced into the market, reducing new production need and conserving valuable resources.

Conference presenters highlighted how repair over replacement is being legislated as a right in jurisdictions around the world. Resources are saved, costs are lowered, product life is extended, and people and organisations are empowered to support a greener future. It was pointed out that just 43% of countries have recycling policies, 17% of global waste is formally recycled, and less than 1% of global e-waste is formally repaired and reused.

Right to repair is a rising wave in the circular economy, and legislation is one way that civil society is pushing back on programmed obsolescence. Its global momentum continues at different speeds for different product categories — from the recent EU mandates to multiple US state bills (and some laws) through to repair and reuse steps in India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Commission has done a scoping study to identify product groups under the Ecodesign framework that would be most relevant for implementing an EU-wide product reparability scoring system.

Attending this event with the entire electronic waste recycling supply chain — from peers and partners to suppliers and customers — underscored the importance of sharing best practices to address the environmental challenges that increased hardware proliferation and complex related issues are having on the world.

Ross Thompson is Group CEO of sustainability, data management and technology asset lifecycle management market leader Greenbox. With facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Greenbox Group provides customers all over the world a carbon-neutral supply chain for IT equipment to reduce their carbon footprint by actively managing their environmental, social and governance obligations.

Image credit: iStock.com/Mustafa Ovec

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