The programme, which Microsoft says now applies to all new US projects, uses an Azure-based tool called Ecosystem Intelligence to score sites on water quality, biodiversity and noise, then tailors restoration to the local habitat. Named locations include Mecklenburg County in Virginia, Mount Pleasant in Wisconsin, East Point in Georgia and Bedburg in Germany. The Mount Pleasant site, home to what Microsoft calls the world's most powerful AI data center, includes 100 acres of prairie and forest as part of a creek restoration.

Critics see a mismatch between the landscaping and the company's energy choices. Public Citizen's Texas director, Adrian Shelley, called the effort "basically lipstick on a pig", pointing to a 20-year deal signed in June to buy power from a planned Chevron gas plant in West Texas, which Chevron says would deliver roughly 2.67 gigawatts with first power anticipated in 2028. Microsoft's own 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report, released in July, put total emissions up 25% in fiscal 2025, driven primarily by datacenter expansion.

Local pushback is also growing. A San Antonio councilmember who has proposed a moratorium on new data centres suggested Microsoft may be "covering their bases", though the council opted against a blanket pause and is weighing zoning rules, with a vote scheduled for 15 October. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has meanwhile paused approvals for data centres seeking grid connections and barred new environmental permits until regulators complete an audit. Microsoft says it is investing in more than 400 acres of restoration in San Antonio and intends to leave land "more productive than we received it".