Microsoft inks deal to remove atmospheric CO2 using mine waste – ESG Dive

Report on Microsoft-Arca Carbon Removal Partnership and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

A recent agreement has been established between Microsoft and Arca, a Canadian carbon removal company. The partnership focuses on the permanent removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide through an innovative industrial mineralization process. This initiative directly supports several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to climate action, industry innovation, responsible production, and global partnerships.

• Agreement: Microsoft has contracted Arca to remove and permanently store 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Technology: The process utilizes mine waste as a feedstock, accelerating the natural process of carbon mineralization to convert atmospheric CO2 into solid carbonate materials.
• SDG Alignment: The project is a significant contributor to SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Technological Innovation for Sustainable Infrastructure (SDG 9)

Arca’s technology represents a significant industrial innovation by creating a scalable and durable method for carbon sequestration. This approach builds resilient infrastructure for climate mitigation by integrating with existing industrial activities.

1. Feedstock Utilization: The process begins by utilizing mine tailings, the waste material remaining after mineral extraction, as the primary feedstock.
2. Reactivity Enhancement: The reactivity of the mine waste is increased through the application of high-intensity energy bursts.
3. Accelerated Mineralization: The treated material is then exposed to the atmosphere, where it captures and converts CO2 into stable carbonate minerals at an accelerated rate.
4. Verification: Autonomous rovers are used to continuously monitor the process and verify the rate of carbon capture, ensuring measurement and accountability.

Commitment to Climate Action (SDG 13)

This partnership is a direct and urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, aligning with the core objectives of SDG 13. It supports Microsoft’s ambitious corporate climate targets and contributes to the global effort to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

• Corporate Goals: The agreement helps advance Microsoft’s goals to become carbon negative by 2030 and to remove its historical emissions by 2050.
• Portfolio Diversification: The deal expands Microsoft’s carbon dioxide removal (CDR) portfolio, which includes investments in biochar, forestry, and enhanced rock weathering, demonstrating a multi-faceted approach to climate solutions.
• Scalability: The success of Arca’s full-scale demonstration project provides confidence in the technology’s potential to scale from a pilot phase to million-tonne operations, contributing meaningfully to global climate goals.

Advancing Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12)

The initiative exemplifies the principles of a circular economy and responsible production patterns as outlined in SDG 12. By transforming industrial byproducts into a climate solution, the process addresses waste management and resource efficiency.

• Waste Valorization: The technology repurposes mine tailings, a form of industrial waste, to neutralize another form of waste, excess atmospheric CO2.
• Environmental Impact Reduction: This method contributes to a healthier environment by creating value from waste materials, thereby promoting more sustainable production cycles within the mining industry.

Strengthening Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

The collaboration between Microsoft and Arca serves as a model for the multi-stakeholder partnerships required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It combines the resources of a major technology corporation with the specialized innovation of a climate-tech company to accelerate progress.

• Cross-Sector Collaboration: The agreement demonstrates a powerful partnership between the technology and environmental sectors to finance and scale critical climate solutions.
• Knowledge Sharing: Microsoft’s broader engagement in the carbon removal sector, including its co-publication of updated CDR standards with Carbon Direct, contributes to the global knowledge base and strengthens the means of implementation for climate action.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The entire article focuses on a corporate initiative to mitigate climate change. Microsoft’s deal with Arca to remove 300,000 metric tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide directly addresses the urgent need for climate action. Microsoft’s overarching goals to be “carbon negative by 2030” and remove all its historical emissions by 2050 are prime examples of efforts contributing to this goal.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  The article highlights an innovative technology called “industrial mineralization” developed by Arca. This process, which uses “high-intensity energy bursts” to make mine tailings more reactive for CO2 capture, represents a significant technological advancement in the industrial sector. The partnership supports the scaling of this new, environmentally sound infrastructure from a “pilot phase to ‘million-tonne operations’.”

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  Arca’s process is a clear example of circular economy principles. It utilizes “mine waste as feedstock,” effectively turning a byproduct of one industry into a valuable resource for another. The article quotes Arca’s CEO stating, “We have a unique opportunity to utilize one form of waste (mine tailings) to neutralize another (excess atmospheric CO2). The result is less waste and a healthier environment,” which directly aligns with the goal of reducing waste and promoting sustainable production patterns.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The core of the article is the partnership between Microsoft, a global technology corporation, and Arca, a specialized climate-tech company. This collaboration demonstrates a multi-stakeholder partnership where financial resources and market demand from Microsoft enable the scaling and deployment of Arca’s innovative technology to achieve a common sustainable development objective.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation. The agreement between Microsoft and Arca builds institutional capacity for large-scale carbon removal. By investing in and validating this technology, they are contributing to the knowledge and operational ability to mitigate climate change.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable… with greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. Arca’s technology is an “environmentally sound technology” that retrofits the mining industry by finding a sustainable use for its waste (tailings), thereby contributing to making industrial processes more sustainable.
   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors…, encouraging innovation. Microsoft’s investment and validation of Arca’s process directly encourages innovation and helps upgrade the technological capabilities of the emerging carbon removal industry.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The article explicitly states that Arca’s process utilizes “mine waste as feedstock.” This is a direct application of reuse, turning a waste stream from the mining industry into a key component for carbon removal.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. The deal between Microsoft and Arca is a prime example of an effective private-private partnership that leverages the strengths of each organization (Microsoft’s scale and financial resources, Arca’s technology) to address a global challenge.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 13 (Climate Action)

   • Indicator: The amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. The article provides a specific, quantifiable figure: “remove 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.” This serves as a direct measure of progress in climate change mitigation. The goal to scale up to “million-tonne operations” is another forward-looking indicator.

2. For SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure)

   • Indicator: The development and scaling of new, sustainable technologies. The article mentions Arca’s successful completion of its “first full-scale mineralization demo project” and its ambition to “expand from the pilot phase to ‘million-tonne operations’.” This progression from demonstration to large-scale operation is an indicator of technological upgrading and adoption.

3. For SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)

   • Indicator: The volume of waste material reused. While the article does not specify the tonnage of mine tailings to be used, the process itself, which “utilizes a mine waste as feedstock,” implies that the amount of waste repurposed can be measured. The scale of the carbon removal operation (300,000 tons of CO2) suggests a significant quantity of mine waste will be reused.

4. For SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

   • Indicator: The number and scale of private-sector partnerships for sustainable development. The agreement between Microsoft and Arca is a concrete example of such a partnership. The value and scope of the deal (removing 300,000 metric tons of CO2) serve as a quantifiable indicator of the partnership’s contribution to the SDGs.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: esgdive.com