---
title: "Inside Microsoft’s two-decade push to cut water intensity while scaling for growth"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/inside-microsoft-s-two-decade-push-to-cut-water-intensity-while-scaling-for-growth-5nukbsndf
source_url: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/06/24/inside-microsofts-two-decade-push-to-cut-water-intensity-while-scaling-for-growth
type: article
source: "Microsoft"
published: 2026-06-24T12:01:18.070Z
updated: 2026-06-24T12:01:40.124Z
tags: ["cloud", "microsoft", "sustainability"]
reading_time: 9
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# Inside Microsoft’s two-decade push to cut water intensity while scaling for growth

**[Microsoft](https://daily.dev/sources/microsoft)** · 9 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Microsoft details its two-decade effort to reduce water consumption in its global datacenter fleet. Key highlights include a nearly 90% improvement in water use effectiveness (WUE) since the early 2000s, dropping from 2.3 L/kWh to 0.27 L/kWh in 2025. In FY25, Microsoft achieved a milestone by replenishing more water than it withdrew globally. Strategies include direct air cooling with evaporative assist (adopted since 2008), a new zero-water closed-loop direct-to-chip cooling design for AI workloads introduced in 2024, use of recycled and non-potable water sources, rainwater harvesting, and over $500 million invested in community water infrastructure since 2020. The company targets a 40% improvement in water-use intensity by 2030 and aims to sustain water-positive performance long-term.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/06/24/inside-microsofts-two-decade-push-to-cut-water-intensity-while-scaling-for-growth>

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Tags: [#cloud](https://daily.dev/tags/cloud), [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#sustainability](https://daily.dev/tags/sustainability)

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