Microsoft releases its 2015 Citizenship Report, making progress in global human welfare

Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith, in a blog post, highlights the company’s latest 2015 Citizenship Report, showcasing how Microsoft is doing the world good through corporate citizenship. Microsoft carries a set of corporate citizen commitments which include empowering every individual and organization on the planet, in addition to:

• Human rights
• Responsible sourcing and manufacturing
• Environmental stability
• Ethical business conduct and governance.

The Citizen Report contains information about how the company implements and executes these commitments through its company policies, business practices, products and services, and community investments.Smith enumerates the forward progress highlights for the 2015 fiscal year:

• Microsoft becomes the first major cloud provider independently verified to meet the world’s first international standard for cloud privacy (under ISO/IEC 27018).
• The company purchases more than 3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy (equal to 100 percent of (Microsoft’s) global electricity use), creating a carbon offset project portfolio representing more than 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and becoming the second largest user of green power in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Microsoft launches new policies to ensure that U.S. suppliers provide paid leave to their employees who handle Microsoft’s work.
• Creating education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for 307 million young people worldwide through the company’s YouthSpark initiative.
• Donating more than $922 million in software and services to more than 120,000 nonprofit organizations around the globe, including more than 1 million new Office 365 licenses for nonprofit workers and their strategic volunteers.
• For the second year in a row, Microsoft surpasses $1 billion in total company annual giving, with cash donations of $135 million USD in addition to the $922 million in Microsoft products and services.

Smith concludes by stating that Microsoft recognizes there’s always more to do, and welcomes feedback from stakeholders around the world. It’s worth noting that these “stakeholders” are not just investors out for profit, but also customers and concerned citizens, ranging from parents concerned about their children’s safety, all the way to international human rights experts.