Rising to every challenge — it’s part of Microsoft’s DNA. And now the tech giant is going toe-to-toe with a new foe: climate change.
Carbon-negative, zero waste, 100-percent renewable energy — all by the year 2030. Microsoft’s commitment to the planet is one of the world’s most ambitious. And turning commitment into impact means informing and inspiring employees with clear and cohesive messaging. So they tapped Artemis Ward to build a campaign that shares the company’s efforts to their internal teams and echoes into the greater sustainability landscape beyond.
With It’s in Our Nature as its rallying cry, the integrated campaign embodies Microsoft’s solutions-building ethos — and ensures that teams worldwide understand that when it comes to sustainability, everyone at the company has a meaningful role to play.
Planet-First, Employee-Forward
Sustainability efforts are only impactful when people embrace them. So to help Microsoft educate and motivate its 200,000+ global employees to champion climate action, we designed the It’s in Our Nature campaign to meet employees where they are and provide a framework for leadership to join the chorus. It’s in Our Nature features messaging across internal social networks, physical workplaces, and public channels, as well as satellite campaigns for milestones moments like Earth Month.
Expertise
From strategy and design to deployment and measurement, we built a sustainability-focused campaign to spur employee engagement and advocacy.
Creative Campaign Development & Execution
Video Creation
Comms Playbook Development
Editorial Writing and Design
Design System & Style Guide Development
Language Strategy & Workshops
Content Production
Driving Innovation, Sharing Success
As a global technology leader, Microsoft engineers solutions that raise the bar for sustainability, a massive all-electric kitchen at its Puget Sound HQ for example. Capable of serving 1,000+ meals per day with all the flavor but almost none of the carbon that gas kitchens produce, the new facility offered lessons — and stories — worth sharing. We helped get the word out by conceiving, writing, and designing a magazine-style report that offers the roadmap to gas-free facilities for commercial kitchens around the world, as well as contributing to a broader social campaign.
Bringing Culture into Practice
Shaping a culture of sustainability goes beyond messaging and marketing. It also means driving real-life behavior change — like sorting waste at the trash bin. To help Microsoft challenge employee waste practices, we worked with on-the-ground teams in Dublin to craft messaging, signage, and iconography for a “zero waste” pilot program aimed at dramatically reducing the campus’s landfill footprint. Ultimately, the program helped establish the footing for a sustainable waste model to bring to campuses worldwide.
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