Sustainability In The Air How Microsoft built the corporate playbook for scope 3 decarbonisation
In this episode, we speak with Julia Fidler, former Director of Market Development for Energy, Connectivity, and Sustainability at Microsoft, who shares how the company built partnerships that are reshaping corporate approaches to scope 3 emissions.
Fidler discusses:
- How Microsoft’s early carbon fee on scope 1, 2, and 3.6 emissions created the foundation for treating business travel not just as a measurable category, but as a gateway to solving fuel emissions.
- How Microsoft’s Sustainability Grant Program supported early exploration of emerging SAF markets through seed funding for consulting guidance and partnerships, creating a model for corporate innovation in hard-to-abate sectors.
- Why Microsoft chose to support the most expensive SAF pathway (e-fuels/power-to-liquids) and how the concept of “green premium” enabled a three-way collaboration between Microsoft, Alaska Airlines, and Twelve.
- How the partnership with IAG and the Chooose removed barriers for hundreds of Microsoft suppliers to purchase SAF for the first time.
- Why Microsoft’s approach balanced carbon removal procurement with SAF investment alongside demand management, treating these not as competing priorities but as complementary strategies.
Fiddler also shares her journey from corporate travel management to leading industry-defining collaborations with airlines and SAF producers, and discusses how she’ll now be scaling these lessons globally through her new role at the RSB.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Etosha Cave, Co-founder & Chief Science Officer of Twelve, who shares how the carbon transformation company harnesses CO2 from industrial waste streams to produce e-fuels. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
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