Azure Cloud for Sustainability
Author: Ronald Fung
Creation Date: 1 June 2023
Next Modified Date: 1 June 2024
A. Introduction
Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability empowers organizations to accelerate sustainability progress and business growth by bringing together a set of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) capabilities across the Microsoft cloud portfolio plus solutions from our global ecosystem of partners.
Together, we’re enabling organizations to gain the transparency and insights they need to manage their environmental footprint, embed sustainability through their organization and value chain, and create new value in a changing landscape.
At Microsoft, sustainability is at the core of our business, and it has been for more than a decade—extending from optimizing our own operations to building a community of customers and partners learning and working together to advance their sustainability ambitions. Through collaboration, the delivery of dedicated sustainability solutions, and investments in climate equity and innovation, we are committed to driving transformation to build the world every person and organization on the planet needs to thrive.
B. How is it used at Seagen
As a biopharma research company using Microsoft Azure, you can use Azure Cloud for Sustainability to improve the sustainability of your cloud operations and reduce your environmental impact. Here are some ways you can use Azure Cloud for Sustainability:
Energy efficiency: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for optimizing the energy efficiency of your cloud infrastructure, including monitoring and reporting on energy consumption, identifying energy-saving opportunities, and implementing best practices for energy efficiency.
Carbon footprint: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for monitoring and reporting on your carbon footprint, including tracking greenhouse gas emissions and identifying opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint.
Renewable energy: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for incorporating renewable energy into your cloud operations, including sourcing renewable energy and using energy storage to optimize your use of renewable energy.
Circular economy: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for implementing circular economy principles in your cloud operations, including reducing waste and promoting the reuse and recycling of cloud resources.
Reporting and compliance: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for reporting on your sustainability performance and ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards.
Overall, by leveraging Azure Cloud for Sustainability, you can improve the sustainability of your cloud operations, reduce your environmental impact, and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability to your stakeholders and customers. By optimizing your energy efficiency, reducing your carbon footprint, incorporating renewable energy, promoting circular economy principles, and ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards, you can effectively use Azure Cloud for Sustainability to support your biopharma research needs while also reducing your environmental impact.
C. Features
Azure Cloud for Sustainability is a tool that helps organizations improve the sustainability of their cloud operations by reducing environmental impact, promoting circular economy principles, and ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards. Here are some of the key features of Azure Cloud for Sustainability:
Sustainability reporting: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for monitoring and reporting on sustainability performance, including tracking energy consumption, carbon emissions, and waste generation.
Energy efficiency: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for optimizing the energy efficiency of cloud infrastructure, including identifying energy-saving opportunities and implementing best practices for energy efficiency.
Carbon footprint: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for monitoring and reporting on carbon emissions, including tracking greenhouse gas emissions and identifying opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of cloud operations.
Renewable energy: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for incorporating renewable energy into cloud operations, including sourcing renewable energy and using energy storage to optimize the use of renewable energy.
Circular economy: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for promoting circular economy principles, including reducing waste and promoting the reuse and recycling of cloud resources.
Compliance: Azure Cloud for Sustainability provides tools for ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards, including reporting on sustainability performance and ensuring compliance with sustainability reporting requirements.
Overall, by leveraging Azure Cloud for Sustainability, organizations can improve the sustainability of their cloud operations, reduce their environmental impact, and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability to stakeholders and customers. By optimizing energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, incorporating renewable energy, promoting circular economy principles, and ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards, organizations can effectively use Azure Cloud for Sustainability to support their business needs while also reducing their environmental impact.
D. Where Implemented
E. How it is tested
Testing Azure Cloud for Sustainability involves verifying that the service is properly configured and that it is effectively improving the sustainability of your cloud operations. Here are some steps you can take to test Azure Cloud for Sustainability:
Verify configuration: Verify that Azure Cloud for Sustainability is properly configured and integrated with your Azure account and resources.
Test sustainability reporting: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by monitoring and reporting on sustainability performance, including tracking energy consumption, carbon emissions, and waste generation.
Test energy efficiency: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by optimizing the energy efficiency of your cloud infrastructure, including identifying energy-saving opportunities and implementing best practices for energy efficiency.
Test carbon footprint: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by monitoring and reporting on carbon emissions, including tracking greenhouse gas emissions and identifying opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of cloud operations.
Test renewable energy: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by incorporating renewable energy into your cloud operations, including sourcing renewable energy and using energy storage to optimize the use of renewable energy.
Test circular economy: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by promoting circular economy principles, including reducing waste and promoting the reuse and recycling of cloud resources.
Test compliance: Test Azure Cloud for Sustainability by ensuring compliance with sustainability regulations and standards, including reporting on sustainability performance and ensuring compliance with sustainability reporting requirements.
Overall, testing Azure Cloud for Sustainability involves verifying that the service is effectively improving the sustainability of your cloud operations and reducing your environmental impact. By testing Azure Cloud for Sustainability, you can ensure that you are effectively using the service to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, incorporate renewable energy, promote circular economy principles, and ensure compliance with sustainability regulations and standards. By taking these steps, you can demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and effectively manage and monitor your cloud environment to support your business needs.
F. 2023 Roadmap
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G. 2024 Roadmap
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H. Known Issues
Like any software or service, there may be known issues or limitations with Azure Cloud for Sustainability that users should be aware of. Here are some of the known issues with Azure Cloud for Sustainability:
Limited data availability: Azure Cloud for Sustainability may have limited access to sustainability data, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the resources to collect and report on sustainability performance.
Limited functionality: Azure Cloud for Sustainability may have limited functionality, particularly for organizations with complex cloud environments that require advanced sustainability reporting and management capabilities.
Complexity: Azure Cloud for Sustainability can be complex to configure and use, particularly for organizations with limited experience in sustainability reporting and management.
Cost: Azure Cloud for Sustainability can be expensive, particularly for organizations that require advanced sustainability reporting and management capabilities or that require a high level of support and customization.
Limited customization: While Azure Cloud for Sustainability allows users to customize the interface, there may be limitations to the level of customization that is possible, which can limit the ability of users to configure the service to their specific needs.
Overall, while Azure Cloud for Sustainability offers a powerful tool for improving the sustainability of your cloud operations and reducing your environmental impact, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include carefully monitoring data availability to ensure that the service is meeting their needs, carefully managing costs to ensure that they stay within their budget, and carefully configuring the service to meet the specific needs of their data. By taking these steps, users can ensure that they are effectively using Azure Cloud for Sustainability to improve the sustainability of their cloud environment and support their business needs.
[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture
[x] Reviewed by Application Development
[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture