Some or all of this functionality is available as part of a preview release. The content and the functionality are subject to change.
We're excited to bring you the 2024 wave 2 release of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability. Select a tab to view monthly releases throughout this wave. Select the Deprecations tab to view any deprecations.
These dates reflect when we plan to make the release available for you to update manually for testing purposes. They also show when we plan to automatically update sandbox and production environments. If you want to update an environment manually, you can update it with the Microsoft Cloud Solution Center, or you can refer to Manage Dynamics 365 apps in the Power Platform documentation.
In general, updates start releasing around the first of the month with a staggered rollout to different countries/regions. Some updates aren't available until later in the month. Occasionally, we might have to delay availability or updates for one or more regions to a future date.
For more information about release cadences, go to Release schedule.
Region
Availability planned
Automatic sandbox environment updates planned
Automatic production environment updates planned
Asia Pacific (APAC)
January 17
January 24
February 7
Australia (OCE)
January 17
January 24
February 7
Germany (GER)
January 17
January 24
February 7
India (IND)
January 17
January 24
February 7
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
January 17
January 24
February 7
United Kingdom (UK)
January 17
January 24
February 7
Europe (EU)
January 24
January 31
February 14
United States (NAM)
January 24
January 31
February 14
Note
With this release, we support versions of Sustainability Manager that are version 2.24 or later. The January 2025 release is version 2.27. For more information, including what to do if your environment isn't running a supported version, go to Supported versions.
Updates
External reporting in Microsoft Sustainability Manager is generally available
External reporting in Sustainability Manager enables your organization to collaboratively create voluntary and regulatory disclosure reports across a range of standards and frameworks. Approval and audit workflows help your organization ensure compliance and data accuracy. With these features, external reporting in Sustainability Manager reduces complexity, enhances efficiency, and provides greater transparency for ESG reporting.
The analytics dashboards extensibility feature is generally available
With this feature, you can create customized versions of built-in insights pages across emissions, water, and waste. To learn how to customize your dashboards, go to Customize analytics dashboards.
You can now use the 2024 NEEFE update to calculate emissions
With Sustainability Manager, you can effortlessly import emission factors from various authoritative sources, including the National and European Emission Factors for Electricity (NEEFE). Sustainability Manager incorporates the 2024 NEEFE update to allow organizations and individuals to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the activity-based (IPCC) and life-cycle (LC) approaches.
The NEEFE factors are essential components for calculating and managing the environmental impact of electricity consumption within the European Union. They provide a standardized set of emission factors that can be used for obligatory reporting and risk assessment for financial institutions, as well as for calculating product carbon footprints (PCFs) and other environmental metrics.
Calculation error records are deleted after 30 days
Previously, calculation errors were only deleted if you rerun a calculation. Now error records are automatically deleted if they're older than 30 days. For more information about running, viewing, and retrying calculation jobs, go to Create calculation profiles.
Fixes
Support for negative revenue values
We resolved an issue in reference data where the Organizational unit revenue table didn't accept negative revenue values. While uncommon, certain units might report negative net revenue for specific periods. This field now supports negative values, ensuring accurate reporting and accommodating all valid revenue scenarios.
Intelligent insights model runs are canceled if they don't complete in 24 hours
Intermittently, intelligent insights model runs got stuck in a pending state. This fix resolves that issue by canceling the model run if it doesn't complete within 24 hours. You can then either wait for next month's results or get the results sooner by going into the settings and changing the model run date.
Continued improvements in ingestion efficiency
Continuing our efforts to enhance data ingestion performance, we streamlined the deletion of previously imported data, enabling the removal of 1,000,000 records in under 40 minutes during testing. Record creation is also accelerated, with the ability to create 1,000,000 records in less than 20 minutes. In addition, the improved ingestion pipeline optimizes Dataverse resources more effectively, delivering greater throughput. These improvements further optimize the ingestion process for faster, more efficient sustainability data management.
Fixed PowerFx issue in calculations for Account
We identified an issue where calculations using PowerFx expressions in the Revenue - Calculation action encounter errors due to missing or unavailable values, particularly when Account attributes of type Currency are involved. We resolved this issue by adding support for marshaling Currency types into PowerFx types, ensuring that these attributes are correctly processed. We also changed the marshaling process to avoid failing the entire record when one attribute fails. This change reduces the impact of individual attribute errors on the overall calculation, allowing calculations to proceed even if some attributes aren't included in the PowerFx expression.
Copilot Studio templates
EU CBAM Estimator Agent is available in preview
EU CBAM Estimator is an extensible prebuilt agent that helps you to understand and comply with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulations in the European Union (EU). It's relevant for businesses involved in supply chain, sustainability, or IT sectors that operate within or export to the EU. CBAM aims to reduce carbon leakage by leveling the playing field for EU and non-EU businesses, ensuring that imported goods are subject to the same carbon pricing as goods produced within the EU. Find out more about this Copilot Studio template at EU CBAM Estimator (preview).
You can also learn more by watching this short video:
Microsoft Sustainability Manager
Release information
These dates reflect when we plan to make the release available for you to update manually for testing purposes. They also show when we plan to automatically update sandbox and production environments. If you want to update an environment manually, you can update it with the Microsoft Cloud Solution Center, or you can refer to Manage Dynamics 365 apps in the Power Platform documentation.
In general, updates start releasing around the first of the month with a staggered rollout to different countries/regions. Some updates aren't available until later in the month. Occasionally, we might have to delay availability or updates for one or more regions to a future date.
For more information about release cadences, go to Release schedule.
Important
There are no automatic updates for the December 2024 release. You can update manually when the release is available, however. Automatic updates resume in January 2025.
Region
Availability planned
Asia Pacific (APAC)
December 6
Australia (OCE)
December 6
Germany (GER)
December 6
India (IND)
December 6
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
December 6
United Kingdom (UK)
December 6
Europe (EU)
December 13
United States (NAM)
December 13
Note
With this release, we support versions of Sustainability Manager that are version 2.23 or later. The December release is version 2.26. For more information, including what to do if your environment isn't running a supported version, go to Supported versions.
Fixes
Improved ingestion performance
We made several backend optimizations to enhance data ingestion performance. These improvements are expected to substantially reduce ingestion times, allowing for faster and more efficient processing of sustainability data.
In our tests, we achieved a benchmark of ingesting 1,000,000 activity records in under 30 minutes. This benchmark was accomplished with the Replace previously imported data option turned off on the Schedule data import page. These backend system changes represent a substantial step forward in optimizing data ingestion performance.
Unit conversions in calculation models
This release includes improved validation and handling for unit conversions in calculation models. In certain edge cases for advanced calculation scenarios, a calculation error resulted from a difference in the unit of calculation/estimation node and the report node. This error resulted in incorrect emissions calculation due to an incorrect unit being applied if all of these three conditions were met:
A calculation or estimation node was used.
The output unit of that node wasn't a specific unit (for example, the quantity unit is chosen) and the selection for the input unit didn't match the selection for the output unit.
The activity units flowing through the calculation model were diverse, or the output units of mapped estimation factors were diverse.
In this case, an activity flowed through the node of bullet 1 and established the input unit for a downstream report water/waste/emissions or estimation node. The downstream node didn't reset itself for new activity data with different unit groups, so an error occurred.
If the unit groups were the same, an incorrect unit conversion could happen, with calculations resulting in incorrect emissions output. Otherwise, the calculation of other activity records failed with a unit conversion error.
Improved spend type filtering in calculation models
We resolved an issue where deactivated spend types were still visible during the configuration of calculation models, causing a cluttered user experience. Spend types now filter by their status, displaying only active ones, which streamlines configuration and improves usability. For more information about calculation models, go to Create calculation models.
Large data trail reports (preview) generate and save successfully
We fixed an issue with large data trail reports so that you can now successfully generate and save them without failure. This fix improves reliability for our customers who work with extensive datasets, helping to ensure seamless reporting in Sustainability Manager. For more information about data trail reports (preview), go to Generate a data trail report (preview).
Enhanced date format support in data trail reports (preview)
We resolved an issue in data trail reports (preview) where dates in CSV exports were written in US date format, causing challenges for end users using other regional date formats. This improvement ensures dates are correctly represented based on regional settings, enhancing the reliability and usability of data trail reports (preview).
Country/region mapping with audit history enabled
We resolved an issue where records couldn't be inserted for country/region mapping when Audit functionality is enabled.
Accurate facility-level scope 2 aggregations reflecting location-based data
We resolved an issue in the Emissions insights dashboard where scope 2 emissions summarized by facility incorrectly included market-based emissions. The dashboard now considers only location-based emissions, ensuring accurate aggregation and reporting.
Accurate filtering for alternate result basis and accounting method in dashboards
We resolved an issue in analytics dashboards where filtering by a Alternate result basis and Accounting method didn't work as expected. Filters now correctly adjust emissions totals, applying the activities and emissions across all three scopes when both fields are defined. If Alternate result basis is undefined, the Accounting method filter applies solely to scope 2 data, ensuring accurate insights.
Microsoft Sustainability Manager
Release information
These dates reflect when we plan to make the release available for you to update manually for testing purposes. They also show when we plan to automatically update sandbox and production environments. If you want to update an environment manually, you can update it with the Microsoft Cloud Solution Center, or you can refer to Manage Dynamics 365 apps in the Power Platform documentation.
In general, updates start releasing around the first of the month with a staggered rollout to different countries/regions. Some updates aren't available until later in the month. Occasionally, we might have to delay availability or updates for one or more regions to a future date.
For more information about release cadences, go to Release schedule.
Important
The October 2024 release was delayed and moved to the November 2024 release.
Region
Availability planned
Automatic sandbox environment updates planned
Automatic production environment updates planned
Asia Pacific (APAC)
November 1
November 8
On hold
Australia (OCE)
November 1
November 8
On hold
Germany (GER)
November 1
November 8
On hold
India (IND)
November 1
November 8
On hold
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
November 1
November 8
On hold
United Kingdom (UK)
November 1
November 8
On hold
Europe (EU)
November 8
November 15
On hold
United States (NAM)
November 8
November 15
On hold
Note
For organizations running version 2.23 or later, there are no automatic production environment updates in November and December 2024.
However, organizations that are running versions earlier than version 2.23 will update to the current release (version 2.25).
With this release, we support versions of Microsoft Sustainability Manager that are version 2.22 or later. The November release is version 2.25. For more information, including what to do if your environment isn't running a supported version, go to Supported versions.
You can now ingest data from the Cloud for Sustainability energy data model into Sustainability Manager. Future plans include capabilities for calculating and reporting on energy data. For more information about the energy data model, go to Cloud for Sustainability energy data model overview. For more information about data ingestion, go to Overview of data import.
Business unit ownership in calculations
Sustainability Manager now aligns the business unit association of generated emission records with the business unit of the source activity record. This change provides more accurate reflection of data ownership.
Background
All records in Sustainability Manager are associated with a business unit. When an activity record is processed during calculation, it generates corresponding emission records.
Before the November 2024 release, the generated emission records are associated with the business unit of the owner who ran the calculation. To align better with the most common business need, generated emission records now inherit the business unit of the source activity.
To illustrate the change, consider this use case:
Activity record AR100 belongs to Business unit BU1
Calculation owner user CalcUser belongs to business unit BU2
Previous behavior
When CalcUser runs a calculation profile that processes activity AR100 in BU1, the resulting emission record ER100 belongs to business unit BU2, based on the business unit membership of CalcUser.
New behavior
When CalcUser runs a calculation profile that processes activity AR100 in BU1, the resulting emission record ER100 belongs to business unit BU1, based on the business unit membership of source activity AR100.
Impact
This change only applies to new calculations processed after the November 2024 release.
Existing emission records retain their original business unit association. To modify the business unit of existing emission records, you need to rerun the calculation profiles after the release upgrade.
Add topics to Copilot in Sustainability Manager
Supercharge your experience with Copilot in Sustainability Manager by customizing it through Microsoft Copilot Studio, where you can easily add and personalize topics to fit your needs. To find out how, go to Create and edit topics with Copilot in the Copilot Studio documentation.
We added the 2024 Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) emission factors to Sustainability Manager. UK and international organizations use these emission factors for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These factors help organizations maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. They include various categories such as fuels, bioenergy, passenger vehicles, and more. For more information about Defra factors, go to Greenhouse gas conversion factors.
For a complete list of all the emission factor sets included in Sustainability Manager, go to Configure emission factors.
Sustainability data definition replaces Emissions source field
Sustainability Manager previously used the Emissions source field to identify the type of data used for ingestions and calculations. With the expansion to include water and waste, Sustainability Manager now uses Sustainability data definition as the new categorizing field and table within the product. This field allows for the ingestion and calculation of other data types beyond emissions.
Let's Talk Sustainability: Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) episode is available
Join Kelsey Bloomquist, who hosts Andrea Coluccio and Göksel Oral from the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability team. They explore the Application Lifecycle Management approach for Microsoft Sustainability Manager, illustrating how to effectively structure your development, deployment, and maintenance processes. Learn the vast benefits, including enhancing operational efficiency to help drive sustainability goals across your organization. Check it out here: Let's Talk Sustainability: Application Lifecycle Management.
Let's Talk Sustainability: What-if analysis episode is available
Join Kelsey Bloomquist, who hosts Nikol Vladinksa from the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability team. Nikol provides an overview and demo of how you can use What-if analysis to create informed, data-driven carbon reduction initiatives. Learn how to create a forecast scenario, layer multiple strategies, and understand the resulting forecast components. Check it out here: Let's Talk Sustainability: What-if analysis.
Fix
Reporting Upstream/downstream transportation and distribution activity data
Starting with version 2.17, if you made upstream/downstream transportation and distribution activity records, the Reporting date field didn't populate correctly. As a result, activity reports for that data didn't include that data. This issue is fixed, and a migration script backfills existing transportation and distribution data so that the Reporting date is set properly. This migration script runs one time when your environment updates to version 2.24 or later.
Cloud for Sustainability data model
New data model list is available for download
You can download the latest Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that lists entities and attributes for the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability data model. For more information, go to Data model spreadsheet downloads.
Origincorrelationid appears in more tables
We added **origincorrelationid** column to multiple tables, including Renewable Energy Certificate, Agreement Details, Energy Contract, Generated Energy, Energy Contract Type, Energy Source, Utility Type, Data Source Type, and Energy Provider Type.
Capitalization changes for "deprecated"
We updated descriptions and display names to change the capitalization and use "deprecated" instead of "Deprecated" in Partner Emission, Capital Good, Deprecated Product Carbon Footprint, and Emission.
Increased maximumLength for projectname to 250
We increased maximumLength for projectname in Renewable Energy Certificate from 100 to 250.
Sustainability data definition replaces Emissions source field
Sustainability Manager previously used the Emissions source field to identify the type of data used for ingestions and calculations. With the expansion to include water and waste, Sustainability Manager now uses Sustainability data definition as the new categorizing field and table within the product. This field allows for the ingestion and calculation of other data types beyond emissions.
The Is market based attribute/column is deprecated
The Is market based column no longer appears on the All emissions page. The Accounting method and Alternate result basis columns replace it. The Market based checkbox in the calculation model experience is replaced with the Accounting method dropdown. For a detailed list of effects and recommendations, go to Important information about the August 2024 release.
