Sustainability focussed sessions at Microsoft Build 2020

May 18, 2020

Microsoft’s largest developer conference Build is going online this year, becoming free and turning into a 48 hour live stream! I am one of the anchors covering the EMEA timezone on day one and this is the list of sustainability focussed sessions that I am hosting.

All times are in BST, I like to use https://everytimezone.com/ to convert to my own time 🙂

How to start a grassroots Green team?
Wednesday, May 20 - 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM BST - 30 mins
Speakers: Clara Manshilha, Denajda Aliaj, Matilde de Jesus Jacob Alves, Ola Fagerstrom, Sebastian Friedrich
Microsoft has an active group of employee-led grassroots Green teams. We speak to some of the leads about how they started, their success stories and advice for people wanting to start their own.

Building a 100% renewable-powered future with Azure IoT & Vattenfall
Wednesday, May 20 - 1:45 PM - 2:00 PM BST - 15 mins
Speakers: Conor Kelly, Marcus Melin
Vattenfall and Microsoft have jointly developed a first-of-its-kind solution. The solution, 24/7 matching, is built with Microsoft Azure IoT Central platform. It connects energy generation such as wind- and hydropower from Vattenfall, with data from smart meters that measure the consumption in real-time, paving the way for a 100% renewable-powered future.

The 8 Principles of Sustainable Software Engineering
Wednesday, May 20 - 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM BST (15 mins)
Speakers: Chris Adams - greening.digital
Join us to learn about Sustainable Software Engineering, an emerging discipline at the intersection of climate science, software, hardware, electricity markets and data center design.

Environmentally Sustainable Data Centers
Wednesday, May 20 4:30 PM - 4:45 PM BST (15 mins)
Speakers: Brian Janous - GM Energy & Sustainability
Learn how Microsoft is working to power its Data Centers with net-zero impact for carbon, water, waste, and ecosystems, and generate positive environmental outcomes globally.

A Planetary Computer for a Sustainable Future
Wednesday, May 20 - 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM BST (30 mins)
Speakers: Lucas Joppa - Chief Environmental Officer
A quarter of our planets’ species are threatened with extinction. To preserve and protect the biodiversity and health of the world’s ecosystems, we are building a planetary computer. We speak to Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, about Microsoft’s biodiversity commitments and carbon initiative.

In addition to the above I’m also hosting or co-hosting a few other sessions you might be interested in:

The History of Visual Studio Code
Wednesday, May 20 - 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM BST - 30 mins
Speakers: Erich Gamma
Everyone loves a good origin story; we speak to Erich Gamma, the creator of Visual Studio Code, and so much more. We find out how Visual Studio Code was conceived, the challenges of the early years to now becoming the most popular development environments in the world.

Ten Top Tips for Remote Meetings from the Teams Team
Wednesday, May 20 - 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM BST - 30 mins
Speakers: Amit Paunikar, Sofiya Huts, Neeraj Jain, Nakul Madaan, Martin Chown
Insider tips and tricks from the people who make Teams. From how to handle meeting fatigue to being more productive during meetings, learn from the makers.

From fleeing conflict to learning to program
Wednesday, May 20 - 12:45 PM - 1:00 PM BST - 15 mins
Speakers: Benjamin Hughes, Sherry List, Sima Milli, Fatemeh Pakpour
How “Hack Your Future”, a volunteer-led European non-profit, helps refugees and immigrants learn programming skills and re-join the job market.