Water and Vector Center Featured in Microsoft’s First Annual Environmental Sustainability Report

Microsoft’s unprecedented sustainability report highlights Vector Center as key part of the company’s global water and climate strategy:

The context

According to the World Bank, the reduction in freshwater availability due primarily to climate change, coupled with increased demand, could reduce water availability in cities by more than 66 percent by 2050.

Getting ahead of the world’s imminent water crisis will require a reduction in the amount of water used to operate economies and societies while ensuring there is sufficient and clean water for all. This will require a transformation in the way water data is collected and managed, the way we build solutions and approaches to water, and a concerted effort for all organizations to properly account for and balance their water use.

Microsoft has taken steps to reduce the water consumption in our datacenters and buildings over the past decade. With the latest scientific data on water scarcity in mind, we expanded our efforts in 2020, setting a new commitment to be water positive by 2030. (pg. 32)

Capitalizing on AI

Through our AI for Earth program, we are also supporting startups and non-profits capitalizing on the cloud, data, and AI to accelerate the pace of innovation in water.

Gaining insights into water conditions

Vector Center utilizes Azure in its Perception Reality Engine to collect, correlate, and analyze water-related data to produce an overall picture of what’s happening in a city, region, or watershed in real time. Their unique approach combines state-of-the-art satellite data, social sentiment analysis, and on-the-ground investigative research to deliver focused intelligence, scenarios, contexts, and response strategies about the world’s water, food, and energy supplies in a disruptive era. (pg. 40)