Microsoft is a multinational technology company that develops, licenses and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers and cloud services. Its best-known products include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365, the Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming consoles, LinkedIn and Surface devices.

Reason for engagement

As a company that develops hardware as well as software, Microsoft has extensive supply chains that reach into high-risk geographies for forced labour in Asia. In addition, its technology is reliant on rare earth minerals, which are often mined in conflict-afflicted regions in Africa.

As one of the largest companies by market capitalisation globally, Microsoft is in the scope of the CCLA Modern Slavery Global Benchmark. It was assessed and ranked on its approach to modern slavery for the first time in 2025.

What we did

We commenced engagement with the company in 2025 to understand and evaluate its approach to modern slavery and forced labour. Microsoft engaged constructively and was placed in performance tier 2 (‘evolving good practice’) in the pilot benchmark.

Outcomes

Since engagement commenced, Microsoft has enhanced its modern slavery disclosures and provided more granular detail on its supply chain. It has also incorporated site-level analysis into its modern slavery risk assessments. In its supply chain integrity statement for fiscal year 2024 (published in 2025):

  • The company disclosed improved details about its supply chain. The statement indicates that the company sourced from over 19,000 directly contracted suppliers located in 108 countries in 2024. A map illustrating these countries is included.
  • It also disclosed that its cloud hardware division integrates on-site analysis into broader risk assessment processes: ‘assessment findings and remediations … are all inputs to a quarterly risk assessment cycle, out of which new and emerging risks are identified, rated, and actioned’.
  • It furthermore demonstrated that modern slavery indicators were found in its supply chain during the reporting period, specifically 13 instances of ‘prohibited recruitment fees’. The statement provides brief detail on the remedial action taken in response to these findings. It confirms that Microsoft requires suppliers to repay such fees and that in fiscal year 2024, suppliers took immediate action to repay a total of $66,939 to 2,216 employees.