Decarbonisation in the tech sector
Firms are recruiting experts, lobbyists and the logic of hard-to-abate sectors, but will they be able to sustain their net-zero goals?
OpenAI is offering nearly half-a-million dollars a year for an expert to help it reduce the environmental impact of its supply chains.
The artificial intelligence giant and ChatGTP owner is currently recruiting an environmental and supply chain responsibility manager, based out of San Franscisco, to “drive positive impact through systems-level change”.
It’s the latest sign that the tech companies are trying to get on top of their ballooning carbon and water footprints, driven by the development of data centres and AI.
In May, Microsoft revealed its 2024 emissions were 23.5% higher than in 2020, despite a commitment to be carbon negative by the end of the decade.
The firm explained that, while the increase looks big on paper, it was “modest” when seen in the context of a 168% jump in its energy consumption over the period.
A month after the latest figures were published, Microsoft UK’s chief sustainability officer Lewis Richards said the firm was simply responding to demand.
“Sometimes the language ends up being a pointy finger, like, what are you doing about sustainability?” he told delegates at an event in London.
“Whereas it’s everybody’s job to be better when we think about consumption and how we use technology effectively.”
Arguments like this – that companies are just supplying what customers want – mirror those long used by more conventional hard-to-abate sectors like fossil fuels.
The tech industry is also embracing a narrative used in the mining sector: sure, it’s a carbon-heavy business model, but it will eventually provide the climate solutions needed – whether that’s materials for electric vehicles and renewables, or the invention of green technologies.
Carbon removals
In the meantime, the focus is on finding ways to keep emitting whilst retaining 2050 net-zero goals.
Back in May, Google advertised for an expert to help it “improve GHG and Net Zero standards and protocols in support of Google’s business interests”, namechecking the Science Based Targets initiative, which has been at the centre of a fight over the legitimacy of carbon offsetting in decarbonisation strategies.
Google, Apple and Meta have all recruited carbon removals experts, too.
Apple’s recently job ad said it wanted someone to work alongside its legal, finance and government affairs teams to “champion, drive and coordinate carbon removal projects” – as well as some avoidance-based projects.
Those projects have been coming thick and fast.
A recent study by CSR.fyi found that more tonnes of removals were contracted in the second quarter of 2025 (15.48m) than in all quarters combined since 2020 (13.6m).
They include a record-breaking deal from Microsoft in May – one of a handful signed by the firm this year – and a multi-year agreement by TikTok.
The trend looks sent to continue, with Frontier, a buying platform supported by Google, Meta and Stripe, announcing a $41m offtake deal with removals start-up Arbor in July.
“With 2030 on the horizon, there is much more to do,” says Meta on its website.
“We are excited to continue our work supporting the development of the carbon removal market… to help us achieve our sustainability goals.”
But, with McKinsey estimating that demand for credible removals could be double supply by the end of the decade, it remains to be seen whether the tech sector will be able to keep its net-zero ambitions alive without actually reducing its emissions.