Protecting ecosystems Taking responsibility for our land footprint Microsoft directly operates on approximately 11,000 acres of land around the world, and we recognize that our own land footprint has an impact on ecosystems. We have made a commitment to permanently protect more land than we use by 2025. We are also looking at ways for our datacenters to integrate and give back to the natural environment. Since making this co mmitment in April 2020, we identified two lead ing land protection organizations, the National Fish and W ildlife Foundation (NFWF) within the United States and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) globally, to partner with to achieve our commitment to protect more land than we use. We used a data-informed approach to identify ecosystems most at risk, using TNC’s last chance ecosys tem framework and NFWF’s nationa l landscape conservation framework. We also prioritize projects that have the support and involvement of local and indigenous populations. In FY21, we contract ed for projects that will help protect more than 17,000 acres of land, including the following TNC Belize Maya Forest Project We contributed to the purchase of the Maya Forest land , one of the largest remaining tropical forests in the A mericas outside of the Amazon. The approximately 236,000 acres secures a vital wildlife corridor in Central America’s dwindling forests. This area is critical for the protection of iconic wildlife species, such as jaguars and ocelots, and pres erves a significant living carbon reserve. NFWF Western Big Game Migration Program We contributed to the purchase of permanent conservation eas ements in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada that will protect the migration corridors for species of greatest conservation need, including mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and moose. This effort also allows apex predators to thrive, including mountain lions, grizzly bears, and Canada lynx. Providing contiguous protected lands is crucial for enabling the successful migration of these wide- ranging species. Giving back to the natural environment As we expand our operational footprint with new datacenters, ou r approach includes work to find ways for our datace nters to give back to the natural environment. Understanding how we can provide the same (or better) performance as an intact ecosystem starts with understanding how an ecosystem performs on its own. We have begun assessment of ecosystem performance in 12 datacenter regions, to be completed by end of 2021. Through this research, we are quantifying ecosystem performance in terms of services including water quantity and quality, air, carbon, climate, soil health, human health and wellbeing, and biodiversity. The goal is to renew and revitalize the surrounding area—resulting in mutual, regenerative value for the local community and environment. We measur e this in percentages of intact ecosystems, meaning the higher the percentage, the more effective we are at meeting nature’s benchmark for the area. The findings are helping to inform one of our first projects in North Holland, which is part of our Amsterdam datacenter region. Around the datacenters, we will construct lowland forested areas as well as forested wetlands, which are highly saturated with water and vegetation suited for water filtration to naturally process storm water and runoff. Modeled results from these different approaches suggest that ecosystem performance can be restored to as much as 75 percent (where we are able to successfully recreate 75 percent of the function of the untouched ecosystem). The Maya Forest land is one of the largest remaining tropical forests in the Americas outside of the Amazon. 5,000 We will exceed our commitment to protect more land than we use by contracting for more land protection, putting us on path to exceed our goal by 50 percent. 81