eBay Commits to Reducing Scope 1 and 2 Carbon Emissions 90% by 2030

eBay continues its commitment to climate action by setting an ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) target approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

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By 2030, the company plans to reduce its own (scope 1 and scope 2) emissions by 90% from a base year of 2019, in line with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.

This is the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process and aligns with the Paris Agreement.

Additionally, eBay commits to reducing downstream transportation and distribution emissions by 20% in the same timeframe. These emissions arise from the shipping of goods via eBay’s platform, and eBay will work with its logistics partners to offer low-carbon alternatives.

Separately from the science-based target, eBay is also committing to becoming carbon neutral for its offices and data centers (scope 1 and 2) by the end of 2021.

This commitment will continue to promote eBay’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint while offsetting any emissions left from this year onward.

“At eBay, we believe we have an urgent and important responsibility to mitigate the impact of climate change. We are committed to ambitious action and the approval of our science-based target along with our accelerated carbon neutrality goal are critical to the work we are doing to have real, measurable impact.”

Renee Morin, Chief Sustainability Officer at eBay

“We congratulate eBay on setting science-based targets consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. By setting ambitious science-based targets grounded in climate science, eBay is taking action to prevent the most damaging effects of climate change,” added Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Managing Director, Science Based Targets at CDP, one of the SBTi partners.

eBay Made Impactful Investments for Sustainable Commerce

eBay has taken several steps to reduce its environmental impact, including reducing its overall energy use, switching electricity supply to renewable energy, reducing water usage, diverting waste, and more.

The company sourced 74% of its electricity supply from renewable energy in 2020, up from 66% in 2019. eBay’s headquarter in San Jose is powered 100% by renewable energy with a target to reach 100% across all its operations by 2025.

eBay’s 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions have already been reduced by 19% from 2019 to 2020, primarily due to increased investments in renewable energy sources.

Looking Ahead

eBay has been accelerating its transition to a clean energy economy through its Sustainable Commerce initiatives. For example, recently the company teamed up with McDonald’s into an agreement with Lightsource bp to purchase power from what will be Louisiana’s largest solar farm.

With a completion date of mid-2023, the project is expected to generate more than 600,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy yearly, abating over 450,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

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