Building sustainable, connected communities

AI is transforming how we live and work at lightning speed, faster than any other technology we've seen before. Its unprecedented growth and the infrastructure needed to support it creates an opportunity to drive meaningful community impact and support local prosperity and well-being. 

Yet even today, 750 million people live without electricity. 2.6 billion people around the world lack internet connectivity, and 2 billion don’t have access to safe drinking water. These are fundamental resources that every community needs to thrive. Without them, billions aren’t able to access services that improve health, education, and livelihoods. These gaps demand our attention and action. At Microsoft, we're building the foundations for the AI economy by prioritizing digital connectivity, sustainable water access, and reliable access to energy and electricity. 

• We're committed to extending internet access to 250 million people globally by 2025, including 100 million in Africa, and we’re well on our way there.  
• We've pledged to be water positive by 2030. This includes investing in more than 76 replenishment projects targeting 40 highly stressed water basins to benefit ecosystems and local communities and providing 1.5 million people with access to clean water and sanitation services, three years ahead of our goal.  
• On the energy front, we're committed to expanding carbon-free electricity and are on track to achieve our 2025 target of procuring enough renewable energy to cover 100% of our electricity consumption. We've already contracted 34 gigawatts of carbon-free energy, making us one of the world's largest carbon-free energy buyers, and we’re supporting policies to accelerate the expansion of electricity.

This month we’re taking a focused lens onto our connected communities work with Vickie Robinson, General Manager in our Energy, Connectivity & Sustainability Group—exploring how these fundamentals lay the groundwork for inclusive AI futures and sustainable development. While this is just one slice of how we work with datacenter communities, these stories demonstrate how getting the basics right can help communities participate in and benefit from AI advances. And Microsoft's work with local communities goes beyond the work our team is doing. Through datacenter community programs, AI skilling efforts through Microsoft Elevate, and other company-wide initiatives we're learning from and working alongside the communities where we operate.  

With that, I'll turn it over to Vickie. 

At Microsoft, we are working to address critical gaps that billions of people face through efforts such as expanding digital connectivity to becoming a water positive company by 2030. We do this through a lens focused on supporting local communities. We know every community is different, so we partner closely with local providers, governments, NGOs, and innovators to design solutions that meet real needs and create lasting change.   

In this newsletter’s “top of mind,” I want to highlight the work we’re advancing through three priorities: 

1. Unlocking opportunity with digital access 

We’re intentional about focusing on underserved areas, accelerating the build-out of critical infrastructure for connectivity, clean energy, and water access—ensuring communities can thrive in the digital economy. For example, our collaboration with unconnected.org is testing sustainable business models to extend connectivity to anchors in the community like schools and health clinics, bringing internet access to over 1.8 million people in the Philippines. This work combines financing, technology, and local engagement to ensure access is both affordable and sustainable, creating blueprints that can be replicated and scaled. 

2. Making digital access meaningful 

Once we help bring communities online—whether through datacenters or global connectivity projects—we focus on making that access meaningful, partnering with local organizations to ensure technology delivers benefits for local communities. We support programs that help people use the internet safely and productively, offering tools and training in areas like education, healthcare, and farming.  

In Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, our $3.3 billion datacenter investment is aligned with local needs. Through a partnership with e-vergent Internet | Voice , a Racine County-based connectivity provider, we’re helping to bring affordable, high-speed internet access to 1,200 underserved homes in the community. This collaboration supports local infrastructure and economic development, alongside the launch of Wisconsin’s first Datacenter Academy at Gateway Technical College, which will train over 1,000 students in IT and datacenter operations. 

Our work to expand connectivity is part of a broader commitment to community well-being. This includes investments in water access and environmental restoration—like our cross-company collaboration with Root Pike Watershed Initiative Network (Root-Pike WIN) to restore local watersheds, prairies, and wetlands in Wisconsin. This work stands alongside our global efforts to promote clean water, watershed health, and resilience through water access and replenishment projects, amplifying the community benefits of our technology investments.  

3. Scaling innovation for lasting impact 

No organization can close the digital and sustainability divides on its own. That’s why we partner with organizations like Hughes, Interconexión Eléctrica S.A., and Korea Water Resources Corporation to deliver lasting infrastructure and opportunity. Through our partnership with Hughes , we are bringing internet connectivity to hard-to-reach areas across Asia and Latin America, using satellite technology to reach more than 40 million people globally. In Colombia, we are working with ISA Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. E.S.P. to combine internet, clean energy, and water access to help Indigenous communities grow crops in the dry season. In Johannesburg, we are partnering with water technology company GWF AG and the local water utility, using AI to optimize water pressure and reduce water loss in the city’s distribution network. And in South Korea, in partnership with Korea Water Resources Corporation, the country’s leading water management authority, we are building an artificial wetland to purify about 340,000 cubic meters of water annually—roughly one day of drinking-water demand for 1 million people in Seoul. 

Together, these efforts expand digital participation and accelerate the diffusion of AI-powered tools and services. By getting the basics right and leaning into innovation, we are helping communities around the world participate in—and benefit from—the AI economy. 

📱 Driving connected device access in Africa: Through a partnership with Microsoft, M-KOPA, a leading African fintech, has enabled over four million people to access connected devices through affordable pay-as-you-go models. M-KOPA is now expanding digital skilling, entrepreneurship, and sustainable device access—including Kenya’s first smartphone plant—to unlock inclusive, climate-conscious growth.

💧 Precision agriculture with AI: In Chile's drought-prone Maipo Valley, we’ve partnered with Kilimo to introduce AI-driven precision irrigation to help farmers optimize water use. By analyzing data from connected sensors, the project has saved 1.5 million cubic meters of water over three years (equivalent to 600 Olympic swimming pools), while boosting crop resilience. This highlights how connectivity and AI can advance sustainability—conserving vital resources and supporting livelihoods.

🛜 Digital access and conservation: Vision Net, Inc. is deploying solar-powered connectivity to link wildlife conservancies like the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Centre and Lola ya Bonobo. This access enables the use of AI tools and digital technology to improve animal care, strengthen conservation, and support local livelihoods. At the same time, VisionNet is extending affordable Wi-Fi to schools, farmers, and hospitals—showing how connectivity can protect ecosystems while empowering surrounding communities.

Microsoft signed a five-year framework agreement with Pivot Energy to develop a 500-MW portfolio of community-scale solar energy projects, enabling approximately 150 projects in 100 US communities between 2025 and 2029. As our first large-scale distributed generation portfolio, this agreement uses an innovative contracting structure to prioritize benefits for low-income and rural communities, including workforce development, energy burden relief, and advancing community investment funds. It also supports our company target of reducing Scope 3 emissions by more than 50% by 2030.

• Learn how Microsoft is investing in Wisconsin communities 
• Read about our commitment to bridging the digital divide worldwide 
• Explore an interactive map of water access and replenishment efforts worldwide 
• See how we’re restoring watershed corridors in southeastern Wisconsin 

Sustainably Speaking is Microsoft's newsletter dedicated to sharing progress and insights on our sustainability journey. For more information about Microsoft's sustainability commitments, visit microsoft.com/corporate-responsibility/sustainability.