COP26: Microsoft may not offer some partnerships to businesses that show 'no interest' in sustainability, says president

Brad Smith made the comments in an interview with the BBC at COP26

Microsoft's president Brad Smith says the tech giant could stop "deep partnerships" with companies that do not show an interest in becoming more sustainable.

Smith made the statement in an interview with the BBC at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, of which Microsoft is a principal partner.

The vendor has used the conference to reiterate its target of becoming carbon negative by 2030 and to remove from the environment all the carbon the company emitted since its founding by 2050.

"There are some things we sell that are just off the shelf. We provide Windows and Office and I don't really see us navigating to a future where we decide what we think of you before we sell you our technology," Smith told the BBC.

"I don't think that's going to make for a better country or a better world.

"We may get to a point where we say we won't partner deeply and provide certain, say AI, partnerships with companies that have no interest in improving their environmental footprint while they're pumping oil out of the earth."

Microsoft's Inspire conference in July saw the launch of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, which is designed to "help companies measure, understand and take charge of their carbon emissions, set sustainability goals and take measurable action".

Satya Nadella is one of several top vendor CEOs to speak about sustainability recently, calling it an "existential priority for our society and for every business today".

COP26 continues until Friday, November 12, and has already seen the announcement of the Breakthrough Agenda - a commitment for international co-operation to accelerate the development and deployment of the clean technologies and sustainable solutions needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals.