The software giant’s emissions are on the rise, in spite of a pledge from the company to be carbon negative by 2030. This ticking clock explains Microsoft’s latest deal to address its environmental toll: It’s turning to Running Tide to offset some of its emissions via the ocean.

The big tech industry has seen massive growth in recent years, with companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft leading the way. However, this growth has come at a cost to the environment, as the carbon footprint of these companies continues to increase.

The energy required to power the massive data centers that support their services, as well as the energy consumed by their employees and customers, are major contributors to their carbon emissions.

Running Tide, which also works with Stripe and Shopify, aims to use this money to lock away massive quantities of carbon dioxide.

Despite efforts to transition to renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency, the scale and speed of their operations make it difficult to fully mitigate their impact on the environment.

The algae grows rapidly, absorbing CO2. After less than three months the buoy and the algae and the embodied fast carbon sink to the bottom of the ocean, and if they sink below 1,000 meters the carbon is gone for roughly 1,000 years."

Some scientists also worry that fully developed, venture-backed sequestration schemes, such as gigantic kelp farms, could unintentionally harm ocean ecosystems, MIT Technology Review reported last year.

The plan is to grow kelp, or algae, on biodegradable buoys, which will absorb carbon dioxide before sinking to the ocean floor. Although this is a relatively new process, Running Tide has stated that it has removed less than 1,000 tons of carbon in research and test deployments, with the goal of removing up to 12,000 tons over two years for Microsoft alone.