WWT achieves 20% time savings on emissions calculations using Microsoft Sustainability Manager

via Microsoft

World Wide Technology (WWT), a global technology solutions provider and a leader in the AI and digital revolution, began using Microsoft Sustainability Manager in 2023 to better understand its direct and indirect carbon emissions footprint. Within five months, WWT migrated thousands of data points on its carbon emissions to Microsoft Sustainability Manager, replacing time-consuming calculations across dozens of facilities and a large supply chain. The company estimates that it has reduced time spent on calculations by up to 20%. WWT has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The company is optimistic about the advancing capabilities of Microsoft Sustainability Manager, viewing it as a valuable tool in helping them meet this goal.

Corporations worldwide increasingly recognize the urgency of understanding and reducing their carbon footprints to help safeguard the environment. Global technology solutions provider World Wide Technology (WWT) has a long-standing commitment to reducing its carbon emissions as part of its comprehensive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy[1]. In 2022, WWT joined a global initiative to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and the company wanted to improve insights into its direct and indirect emissions.

After evaluating several commercial options for tracking carbon emissions, WWT decided to deploy Microsoft Sustainability Manager to replace its manual processes for collecting, conciliating, calculating, and analyzing emissions data. Within five months, WWT was able to track and calculate categories of direct and indirect carbon emissions in minutes instead of spending weeks performing calculations in Microsoft Excel.

Relying on manual processes to calculate carbon emissions

Founded in 1990, WWT, with $20 billion in annual revenue, combines the power of strategy, implementation, and partnership to accelerate digital transformational outcomes for large public and private organizations around the world. It has 10,000 employees in over 50 locations worldwide. WWT has a comprehensive ESG strategy, and in 2022, the company committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To meet SBTi standards, WWT calculates its direct carbon emissions (scope 1), the indirect emissions created by powering its facilities (scope 2), and emissions from vendors and other entities in its supply chain (scope 3).

Tracking scope 3 emissions can be challenging, as WWT must collect, store, and analyze data from worldwide suppliers and vendors. Approximately 99% of WWT's carbon emissions stem from scope 3 activities, so developing an accurate, holistic view is an important part of moving toward its net-zero goal. "Data is always a key piece because numbers tell the story like nothing else can, and we wanted our emissions inventory to be bulletproof," says Varchala Abrol, Vice President, Global ESG and Environment, Health, and Safety at WWT. 

Previously, the company's ESG teams tracked and calculated emissions with Microsoft Excel, but the process relied on manual labor and diverted resources from taking meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions by engaging with suppliers that contribute to scope 3 emissions. WWT began evaluating commercial software solutions to improve the accuracy and speed of emissions calculations, looking for a solution that could automate the process and that was functional, economical, aligned with WWT's priorities, and a good technical fit for the organization. 

Consolidating emissions data into a single source of truth within five months

Among the options available, WWT felt that Microsoft Sustainability Manager would best suit its needs for functionality due to the solution's powerful out-of-the-box features, including dashboards and analytics, and its user-friendly interface. WWT had a long-standing relationship with Microsoft and appreciated the alignment between the two companies' commitments to a more sustainable future.