Welcome back: In an interview with WSJ Pro Sustainable Business this week, Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa said that it's helpful to think of the company's sustainability efforts in a similar way to that of the early days of the tech giant itself.

“Fifty years ago we were a startup aiming to create a brand new market for the desktop computer, built on the radical idea that every household should have one,” Nakagawa said. “This market took decades to build, and there were plenty of challenges along the way. Now 50 years later, billions of computing devices from desktop computers to smartphones are part of modern life.”

“We're aiming to build markets for products that we need to meet our sustainability commitments, like carbon dioxide removal, low carbon building materials like steel and cement, sustainable fuels, and of course carbon-free energy. And these are markets that in many cases, 10, 15, even five years ago, didn't exist, and many of them are still nascent,” she said.

“Over the next five years and beyond, our focus will continue to be on scaling these markets and eventually reaching the tipping point where society-wide adoption takes hold,” Nakagawa said.

Microsoft released its sustainability report yesterday. Its carbon footprint is up 23.4% mainly due to its supply chain emissions. But the company remains committed to its goal of being carbon negative by the end of the decade. To do that it is not just investing in projects it needs to lower its emissions, but sustaining the voluntary carbon market almost by itself. 

Read on for more on this story and other sustainability news.  

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Microsoft wants to be carbon negative in 2030 and every year after that. It defines carbon negative as reducing its direct emissions—known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions—to near zero, and lowering its indirect emissions—those that come from its supply chain, known as Scope 3—“ by more than half from a 2020 baseline,” which it will offset with carbon-removal credits.

According to its latest sustainability report, Scope 3 emissions made up more than 97% of Microsoft’s total greenhouse gas footprint last year. Scope 3 emissions were up 26% compared with its base year of 2020, at 15 million mtCO2e. This is an improvement on the previous year, when Microsoft reported a 31% rise in Scope 3.

The company is committing to record numbers of offset agreements in its bid to get its emissions down. Since April 1 it has done deals for about half of all durable removal credits ever purchased. But it has a long way to go.

General Motors went all in on electric vehicles. It was among the first automakers to introduce a plug-in hybrid, back in 2010. This week, however, the company announced that it is going to keep making gas engines at a New York plant that had been slated for conversion to EVs.

“We still believe in an all-EV future. I think EVs are fundamentally better,” Barra said in a conversation with Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker at our Future of Everything conference on Wednesday. Tucker said it appears GM has reversed course on its commitment to an electric future. 

“What we committed to is the customer, and the customer was telling us they weren’t ready,” Barra said. “The regulatory environment, from a California perspective, was requiring that EV penetration be at 37% for new car sales. Last month, it was around 7%...But make no mistake, we have more EVs available...We have the portfolio. We are committed. But frankly, this was necessary for the customer.”

• CEOs Weigh in on Tariffs, the Economy at WSJ’s Future of Everything

In a rare turn of events for Exxon Mobil, activist bids for action on climate issues weren’t on the agenda at its annual meeting on Wednesday, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson reports.

It’s the first time since 1958 that the oil giant has faced no official proposals from shareholders at its AGM—in marked contrast to 2021 when activist investor Engine No. 1 won three of the company’s board seats as part of a campaign to reduce the company’s emissions.

Last year, Exxon sued shareholder activists Arjuna Capital and Follow This for bringing a proposal asking the company to prioritize carbon emissions reduction. The lawsuit was dropped when Arjuna renounced its bid and promised not to bring a similar proposal again. Follow This, which is based in Amsterdam, was dismissed from the lawsuit early on in the court case.

“The energy transition, in whatever form it takes, represents an opportunity for our business, not a threat,” said Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil’s chief executive, at this year’s meeting. He said the company didn’t face any investor bids in part because of its “willingness to challenge proposals that undermine the value of our company and abuse the proxy proposal process.”

• BlackRock’s GIP to buy controlling stake in Eni carbon-capture business. (ESG Dive) 
   
• Commodities giant ADM exploits green fuel loophole, U.K. producers say. (FT)
   
• NuScale wins U.S. approval for small nuclear reactor design. (Bloomberg)
   
• Hitachi aims for net zero across value chain by 2050. (ESG Today)
   
• We need a new American narrative for talking about climate change. (Forbes)
   
• What renewable energy buyers should know about Scope 2 changes. (Trellis)
   
• EU to propose more flexible climate goal in July, sources say. (Reuters)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at wsjperry, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.