CASE STUDY
Baron Solar
How a cohort of Microsoft suppliers brought new clean energy to rural North Carolina
A requirement with a deadline
Microsoft's Supplier Code of Conduct requires large-scale suppliers to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity for the goods and services they provide to Microsoft by 2030.
Most of the suppliers are stuck on finding a way to act that's credible and doesn't require building an internal energy procurement function from scratch.
The accessible path for suppliers under pressure from their biggest buyers
When a requirement like Microsoft's lands on your desk, the options can feel narrow. Buying spot RECs that don't do much beyond a checkbox, or taking on a scale of clean energy investment a mid-sized company can't responsibly commit to alone, feel like your only paths.
In April 2026, a cohort of Microsoft suppliers, including Slalom Consulting, Centific Technologies, ImagiCorps, IP House, BDA, Eleven 11 Solutions, TASA Analytics, and Visionet Systems, signed long-term contracts for High-Impact RECs through Ever.green. Together, their combined commitment gave developer Headwater Energy the contracted revenue it needed to reach financial close on Baron Solar, a 5 MW project in Anson County, North Carolina.
Each supplier committed to a volume that matched what they actually needed, not what the market assumed they should buy. Ever.green structured the contracts, ran diligence, and handled REC serialization and retirement, so each company met Microsoft's requirement with a project they could stand behind.
"We're a consulting partner to thousands of clients, and we're deeply embedded in their supply chains, so we realize our environmental footprint extends well beyond our office doors," said John Poling, Managing Director, Client Leadership, Carolinas at Slalom. "What that means is our choices impact their choices."
A model for companies building their own supplier programs
Baron Solar is an example of how small and medium sized companies can meet supplier requirements. Ever.green's High-Impact REC contracts offered an accessible way for suppliers to meet their large buyers' requirements while doing good for their own company.
"Ever.green was designed specifically to make this kind of collective action possible," said Liz Pearce, Chief Revenue Officer at Ever.green. "Slalom and the other Microsoft suppliers are ideal examples of corporate buyers driving real community impact because it's to their own benefit, as well as the interest of their clients, employees, partners, and other stakeholders."
Why this matters now
Requirements like Microsoft's are becoming more common. As more large enterprises formalize Scope 3 supplier expectations, more mid-sized companies will find themselves where Slalom and the other Baron suppliers were: a requirement with a looming deadline, and limited internal capacity and knowledge to figure out how to meet it.
Bishopville Solar - 28MW facility
Published: July 2026
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