Summary
Cut through the green tape
We don’t push agendas. At Net Zero Compare, we cut through the hype and fear to deliver the straightforward facts you need for making informed decisions on green products and services. Whether motivated by compliance, customer demands, or a real passion for the environment, you’re welcome here. We provide reliable information—why you seek it is not our concern.
Details
Deep dive
The Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability collects data from various sources, such as operations, supply chains, and IT systems, into a unified system. This allows businesses to track metrics like carbon emissions, water usage, and waste generation more effectively. By having all ESG data in one place, companies can identify gaps and make informed decisions to reduce their environmental footprint.
With tools like Microsoft Copilot, the platform leverages AI to analyze data, forecast outcomes, and suggest improvements. For example, if a company sets a goal to reduce emissions by 10% over two years, Copilot can monitor progress, predict whether the company is on track, and recommend actions to achieve that goal.
Within the Cloud, it offers multiple solutions depending on your business needs.
Solutions
Microsoft Sustainability Manager
The Microsoft Sustainability Manager is a core solution within the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability platform. It helps organizations monitor, record, and reduce their environmental impact by leveraging advanced data integration and AI. This solution allows businesses to streamline sustainability processes, track progress, and take steps toward reducing their carbon footprint.

Core Features
1. Record Your Impact with Precision
The Sustainability Manager gives businesses continuous visibility into their environmental activities. It tracks emissions, resource usage, and other sustainability metrics accurately using automated data connections. By linking various data sources, such as operations and supply chain information, it removes the need for manual tracking and provides a full view of your environmental footprint.
2. Improve Data Collection and Break Down Silos
One of the biggest challenges businesses face is fragmented data. The Sustainability Manager addresses this by streamlining data collection and breaking down silos between different systems. It uses a variety of data ingestion methods to integrate information seamlessly, ensuring that all sustainability metrics are collected and standardized.
For instance, businesses can connect data from various formats, including Excel files, databases, cloud services, and on-premises systems, into a single platform. This eliminates the inefficiencies of disconnected systems and provides a unified view of sustainability data.
3. Calculate Emissions More Accurately
To help businesses understand and manage their environmental impact better, the Sustainability Manager provides prebuilt calculation models that can be tailored to specific needs. These models use industry-standard methods to calculate emissions from activities like transportation, energy use, and production.
How Does It Work?
Unified Dashboard for Insights
The Sustainability Manager has a simple dashboard that shows important sustainability data. Businesses can track emissions, energy use, and renewable energy over time and across locations. It makes it easy to see trends and make better decisions.
Integration with Microsoft Copilot
The Sustainability Manager integrates with Microsoft Copilot, an AI-powered tool that quickly answers complex data questions. Businesses can easily use Copilot to generate reports, uncover insights, and identify areas for improvement.
Guided Data Import and Transformation
Importing data is easy with step-by-step workflows. Businesses can select data sources, set rules, and use tools to organize and clean their data.
Source:
Microsoft Sustainability Manager | Microsoft (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sustainability/microsoft-sustainability-manager)
Emissions Impact Dashboard
The Emissions Impact Dashboard for Microsoft 365 is a free tool that provides organizations with transparency into the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their use of Microsoft 365 services.
Core Features
1. Quantifies Cloud Emissions
The dashboard measures the emissions generated by using Microsoft 365 cloud services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams. It follows an independently verified methodology aligned with ISO standards and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The emissions are broken down into:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from data center operations.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from energy purchased to power datacenters.
Scope 3: Emissions from the supply chain, including the production and shipping of server equipment.
2. Transparent Data Breakdown
The dashboard provides clear, visual data on emissions. This includes:
A detailed breakdown of emissions into Scopes 1, 2, and 3 to align with global sustainability reporting standards.
Highlights emissions based on where the data center hosting your services is located, factoring in the energy mix and renewable investments in each region.
Tracks changes in your organization’s emissions over time, making it easier to monitor improvements.
3. Tailored Insights for Action
The dashboard goes beyond raw numbers. For instance, if your organization’s Scope 2 emissions are high, the dashboard can pinpoint regions with lower renewable energy adoption, prompting strategic adjustments such as migrating workloads to more sustainable data centers.
4. Estimates Emissions Avoided by Cloud Migration
Organizations migrating workloads from on-premises systems to the cloud can use the dashboard to estimate the emissions they’ve avoided. Moving to Microsoft 365 eliminates the need for energy-intensive on-premises infrastructure, reducing overall emissions.
How Does It Work?
User-Friendly Integration
The Emissions Impact Dashboard runs on Power BI Pro, making it easy to set up and integrate into your organization’s existing reporting processes. To get started, administrators need to connect their Microsoft 365 tenant, which provides access to the necessary usage data. It typically takes 24–48 hours for the tool to connect and begin working as intended.
Accurate Reporting with ISO Standards
Microsoft’s emissions calculations adhere to ISO standards and align with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This way, businesses receive reliable, standardized data for their sustainability reports. The methodology also reflects Microsoft’s renewable energy investments and accounts for the energy mix of specific regions, providing a full picture of the carbon impact of cloud usage.
Source:
Emissions Impact Dashboard for Microsoft 365 (https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/power-bi/coi-sustainability.emissions_impact_dashboard_microsoft_365)
Environmental Credit Service
The Environmental Credit Service helps businesses and organizations manage carbon credits and other environmental assets. Carbon credits are used to offset emissions, and this tool ensures that the entire process—from creating the credits to buying and retiring them—is simpler, faster, and more trustworthy.
The service is designed to solve common problems in the carbon credit market, like inconsistent standards, confusing processes, and a lack of transparency. It provides a shared system that helps everyone involved in carbon credits—like project developers, registries, and buyers—work together more smoothly.
How It Works
The Environmental Credit Service automates and digitizes the process of creating and managing carbon credits. This means businesses no longer need to deal with slow, manual methods. Instead, everything is handled in one system.
First, a business or organization submits details about their environmental project, like planting trees or installing renewable energy systems. Then, experts check the project to make sure it meets all the necessary standards and creates real environmental benefits.
Once validated, the project earns carbon credits. These credits are tracked in the system so buyers know they’re legitimate. Buyers purchase the credits to offset their emissions, and the credits are retired, meaning they can’t be used again.
Core Features
Simplifies Creating Carbon Credits
This tool automatically measures the environmental benefits of a project and verifies its claims. This reduces the time and effort needed to bring carbon credits to the market.
Improves Credit Quality
To make sure carbon credits are trustworthy, the service provides full traceability. This means every step of the credit’s journey is documented and easy to track. Buyers can be confident that the credits they purchase are real and meet high standards.
It also avoids problems like “double-counting,” where the same credit is used by more than one buyer.
Scales to Meet Growing Demand
As more businesses aim for net-zero emissions, the demand for carbon credits is increasing. This tool helps meet that demand by making it easier for projects to create and distribute credits. It connects project developers, verifiers, and marketplaces so the system can handle a growing number of credits.
Sources:
Environmental Credit Service | Microsoft Sustainability (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sustainability/environmental-credit-service)
Environmental Credit Service (preview) overview - Microsoft Cloud Sustainability (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/sustainability/environmental-credit-service-overview)
CSRD Template in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager
The CSRD template in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is designed to help businesses comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) introduced by the European Commission. This directive requires companies to report on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance using standardized guidelines under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
Microsoft’s CSRD solution provides a structured way to manage the data needed for sustainability reporting.
What Does the CSRD Template Do?
The CSRD template in Purview Compliance Manager streamlines the process of gathering and reporting ESG data by providing tools that help businesses. The template is based on the EFRAG IG 3: Detailed ESRS Datapoints, ensuring it aligns with regulatory expectations and is ready for external verification.
Core Features
Comprehensive Compliance Support
Businesses can:
Take inventory of their data protection risks.
Manage the complexities of implementing controls for sustainability reporting.
Stay updated with the latest CSRD and ESRS requirements.
Generate detailed reports for audits.
Integration with Sustainability Tools
The CSRD template integrates with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability and other tools to help organizations assess their ESG performance comprehensively.
Getting Started
Requirements to Access the Template
To use the CSRD template, organizations need:
Access to Compliance Manager: This tool is part of Microsoft Purview, and businesses must have the required licensing.
Access to the CSRD Premium Template: While viewing the template is free, performing actions like assessments requires purchasing the premium version.
How It Works
Navigate to Purview Compliance Manager to access the CSRD template.
Use the template to gather and organize data for ESG disclosures, following CSRD and ESRS standards.
Create assessments, validate the data, and prepare reports for submission or audits.
Source:
Overview of CSRD reporting regulation - Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/sustainability/esg-reporting-csrd-overview)
Sustainability Data Solutions in Microsoft Fabric
What is Microsoft Fabric?
Microsoft Fabric is an AI-powered data analytics platform. Instead of juggling multiple tools from different providers, Fabric gives you everything you need in a single place. It’s especially helpful for organizations working with large amounts of data, such as those tracking their ESG goals.
What Are Sustainability Data Solutions in Microsoft Fabric?
This solution is designed to help businesses handle their ESG data. Many companies collect data on things like their carbon emissions, water usage, or workplace practices, but the data often comes from different systems and formats. Microsoft Fabric brings all this information together in one place, making it easier to understand and use.
Core Features
ESG Data Estate
This feature creates a “data lake” where all ESG-related data is stored and organized. Think of it like a central library where you can find all your sustainability information in one place. The data is formatted to follow a standard structure, so it’s easier to analyze and compare.Environmental Data and Insights
Helps you analyze the impact of your operations on the environment, such as carbon emissions or waste. It connects with tools like Microsoft Sustainability Manager to gather accurate data and uses prebuilt templates.ESG Metrics for Reporting
Prepares your data for reporting requirements, like those for the CSRD, allows you to calculate and customize metrics for specific regulations, and provides tools to visualize your data in dashboards.Social and Governance Insights
Focuses on workplace and governance data, like employee well-being or ethical practices.Microsoft Azure Emissions Insights
Monitors carbon emissions from your use of Microsoft Azure services. It lets you see trends over time, such as whether your cloud computing usage is becoming more efficient. On top of that, it highlights areas where you can cut emissions.
Source:
Sustainability Data Solutions in Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sustainability/sustainability-data-solutions-fabric)
Plans & Pricing
Free Trials and Previews
Microsoft Fabric: Offers a 60-day free trial to explore its ESG data management and reporting capabilities. Start here.
Microsoft Sustainability Manager: Includes a 30-day free trial to evaluate features like emissions tracking and sustainability reporting. Learn more.
Environmental Credit Service: Available as a preview for testing its carbon credit management tools. Sign up here.
Pricing
Microsoft Fabric and Azure-based tools have a pay-as-you-go model, starting at $25 per user/month depending on data volume and processing needs.
CSRD Template in Purview Compliance Manager requires a premium license, with pricing tailored to the number of users and features.
For businesses with extensive sustainability reporting or ESG goals, Microsoft offers custom pricing based on organization size and specific requirements.
Closing Insights
The Microsoft Sustainability Cloud is a great tool for businesses that need to manage their sustainability data and handle things like carbon tracking and regulatory reporting. If your company already uses Microsoft tools like Azure or Office 365, it’s even better because everything works seamlessly together. The dashboards are clear, and the AI features make it easier to understand your data and take action.
On the downside, it might feel a bit complicated if you’re a smaller business or don’t have a team to handle sustainability tasks. Plus, the cost could be a stretch for companies on a tight budget.
If you’re a medium or large business, especially one trying to keep up with sustainability regulations or improve your environmental impact, this platform is a solid choice.
