Our commitment to sustainable development
Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on the planet underpins our work with the United Nations and our efforts to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Harnessing technology to advance progress on the SDGs
We recognize our enormous opportunity to ensure the technology we create benefits everyone on the planet, as well as the planet itself. The common challenges the world faces are complex, and they cannot be solved by any government or organization alone.
Microsoft’s commitment to multi-stakeholder collaboration
Bringing together the diverse perspectives and resources of governments, business, civil society, and international organizations enhances our ability to create and implement innovative solutions that will drive lasting and sustainable impact.
Using technology to accelerate SDG progress
Since becoming an SDG Advocate in 2021, Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith has emphasized the power of innovation, technology, and multi-stakeholder partnerships to keep the promise of the SDGs.
Our commitment to the UN SDGs
As we look forward to the year ahead, we continue to focus on four commitments to help people and organizations achieve more: expand opportunity, earn trust, protect fundamental rights, and advance sustainability.
Expand opportunity
We believe economic growth and opportunity must reach every person, organization, community, and country. This starts with ensuring everyone has the skills to thrive in a digital, AI-enabled economy, and extends to empowering nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and other organizations to digitally transform and address society’s biggest challenges. This work supports our efforts on Goals 4—Quality Education and 8—Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Earn trust
To create positive impact with technology, people must be able to trust the technologies they use and the companies behind them. That’s why we’re committed to the responsible use of AI, protecting privacy, and advancing digital safety and cybersecurity. Our focus on earning trust helps support several SDGs, including Goal 16—Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
Protect fundamental rights
We have a responsibility to protect people’s fundamental rights and help all communities succeed in an increasingly digital world. For us, this means promoting responsible business practices, expanding accessibility and connectivity, and advancing fair and inclusive societies. When we protect fundamental rights, we support SDGs 8 and 16.
Advance sustainability
Climate change is the defining issue of our generation, and addressing it requires swift, collective action and technical innovation. Microsoft is committed to meeting our own climate goals and enabling others to do the same by promoting rapid policy action, supporting the development of sustainability markets, and accelerating progress through AI-enabled solutions. Our commitment to advancing sustainability is directly aligned with Goal 13—Climate Action.
Digital development as a global opportunity
Digital inclusivity and resilience are critical to global development, especially in rapidly urbanizing parts of the world. Transformational technology such as AI provides new and real ways to make progress toward the SDGs in 2023 and beyond.
Microsoft takes a historic role at LDC5
In March 2023, Microsoft co-chaired with the UN the Private Sector-Forum at the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, joining multi-stakeholder discussions on ways to mobilize long-term investment and finance for LDCs.
Seizing the AI moment: AI for Good
AI represents a once-in-a-lifetime technology, capable of having significant global impacts. To achieve these impacts, we have established several protocols and toolkits to help organizations and governments understand how to use AI responsibly.
Responsible AI governance
As AI technology becomes a bigger part of our lives, it’s critical that governments, civil society, and industry establish interoperable guardrails. In Microsoft’s blueprint for the public governance of AI, we offer views on some ways this can be done.
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Microsoft at the United Nations
Learn more about our engagement with the work of the United Nations and our efforts to support the UN Charter.
Reports Hub
We are committed to improving our world and reporting our progress. Our Reports Hub provides a single source for key reports and resources across our environmental, social, and governance efforts.
2022 UN SDG Report
In 2022, several Microsoft initiatives helped advance progress on all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
