Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Publishes 2015 Citizenship Report

This week Microsoft published its 2015 Citizenship Report, which covers the company’s commitments to ethical business conduct and governance, its people, empowering communities, human rights, responsible sourcing and manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. The report is published in conjunction with Microsoft’s annual report to reflect the core belief that the company’s citizenship commitments and actions contribute long-term value to society and to its business.

A full content index of the Global Reporting Initiative’s G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines accompanies the report. The Microsoft 2015 Citizenship Report is among the first company reports to apply the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, which provides comprehensive guidance for companies to report on how they respect human rights.

A few highlights from the Microsoft 2015 Citizenship Report include:

• Details of Microsoft’s carbon neutrality program and carbon fee, which in FY15 funded internal efficiency projects, the purchase of more than 3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy  (equal to 100 percent of its global electricity use), and  a carbon offset project portfolio representing more than 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• Reporting on Microsoft’s commitments to responsible sourcing, ranging from key findings from supplier audits and assessments to discussion of new policies designed to ensure that Microsoft’s U.S. suppliers provide paid leave to their employees who handle its work.
• Updates on Microsoft’s work empowering communities, including a report out on Microsoft’s work to increase access to education and opportunity for young people. This year Microsoft surpassed the 3-year goal for its YouthSpark initiative by creating opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship for 307 million youth worldwide. In addition, in FY15 Microsoft made more than $922 million in technology donations to more than 120,000 nonprofit organizations globally.

For an in-depth review of Microsoft’s approach to corporate citizenship and performance in FY15, please visit the 2015 Microsoft Citizenship Report at http://www.microsoft.com/citizenshipreport. You can also view the report announcement on the Official Microsoft Blog.