Adevinta champions sustainable commerce, making a positive impact on the environment, the economy and society. We are leading the shift towards circular consumption by enabling re-commerce at scale. The ethos of the circular economy is in our DNA.
At Adevinta, we’re committed to managing the environmental impact of our businesses and setting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. To do this, we need strong internal monitoring of – and reporting on – environmental data. This inspired us to develop a comprehensive and reliable internal reporting system, covering all Adevinta’s businesses. We’re working on a baseline for setting future targets and measuring the progress in emissions reduction and towards achieving our sustainability goals. We’re now able to quantify the company’s emissions from many material sources and identify areas for improvement. This is a game-changer for Adevinta and we’re excited to push for improvements.
| GHG emissions (Tonnes CO2e) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Scope 1 – Direct emissions | |||
| Company owned cars | – | 1 | 2 |
| Air heating | 196 | 11 | – |
| Scope 2 – Indirect emissions1 | |||
| Location-based electricity + heating and cooling |
1,137 | 1,425 | 2.023 |
| Market-based electricity + heating and cooling |
854 | 1,187 | 1,953 |
| Scope 3 – Other indirect emissions8 |
|||
| Purchased goods + services 1, 7 | 24,879 | – | – |
| Capital goods 2, 7 | 455 | – | – |
| Fuel + energy-related activities 3, 7 | 5,917 | 2,144 | 2,118 |
| Energy from data centres | 4,841 | 2,056 | 2,017 |
| Transmission & distribution losses + upstream emission from fuel & electricity |
1,076 | 88 | 101 |
| Waste generated in operations 4, 7 | 71 | – | – |
| Business travel 5, 7 | 1,753 | 1,129 | 1,036 |
| Employee commuting 6, 7 | 5,870 | – | – |
| Total GHG emissions | 40,279 | 4,710 | 5,179 |
1 Extraction, production, and transportation of goods and services purchased or acquired by
Adevinta during the year.
2 Extraction, production, and transportation of capital goods purchased by Adevinta during
the year.
3 Extraction, production, and transportation of fuels and energy purchased or acquired by
Adevinta in the year, not already accounted for in Scope 1 or Scope 2. The inclusions are
upstream emissions of purchased fuels, upstream emissions of purchased electricity,
transmission and distribution losses, and energy used by data centres.
4 Includes emissions from third-party disposal and treatment of waste generated
by Adevinta.
5 Transportation of Adevinta’s employees for business-related activities during the year
(in vehicles not owned or operated by the Adevinta). The inclusion is air, road, train and
bus travel.
6 Transportation of employees between their homes and their worksites during the year (in
vehicles not owned or operated by Adevinta).
7 The methodology used for calculation of emission figure for purchased goods and services,
and capital goods is spend based where as for all other categories average data method
is used. Also the Scope 3 categories from this reporting year are aligned with the
GHG protocol.
8 We have significantly expanded coverage of Scope 3 emissions data in the current
reporting period. Hence the emissions from this year are higher as compared to
previous years.
Our near-term goal is to transition to renewable energy so we can reduce our GHG emissions. We’re making progress, but it’ll take time to reach our goal. In order to compensate for our GHG emissions, we’re offsetting part of our residual emissions on an annual basis. We started doing this in 2022 by purchasing 4,710 Gold Standard verified carbon credits to compensate for our 2021 scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 GHG emissions.
This Gold Standard was established in 2003 by WWF and other international non-government organisations (NGOs) to ensure projects that reduced carbon emissions featured the highest levels of environmental integrity while contributing to sustainable development. Gold Standard is the most stringent offset standard, and is preferred for high quality offset projects.
We know offsetting is not enough to limit global warming to 1.5ºC, hence, it’s only a temporary solution when it comes to minimising our environmental impact. That’s why we are more focused on reducing our carbon footprint as much as we can.
We want to find a meaningful project through which to achieve offsetting. We therefore opt for projects in developing countries that also have a social dimension, contributing to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We also look for projects that have additionality, do not include renewable energy or industrial components, and try to avoid projects that are difficult to assess (e.g. avoided deforestation). We have invested and will continue investing in programmes with positive environmental and social impacts. In 2023, we purchased 16,000 VERs (Voluntary Emission Reductions) in the Gold Standard certified Ibanda-Makera Cookstove Project in Rwanda.
The programme is managed by Likano Project Development GmbH and focuses on providing fuel efficient cooking stoves to rural households in the southeast of Rwanda. Likano works closely together with the local partner REDO (Rural environmental and Development Organisation) for implementing the project and guidance in the field.
Adevinta’s GreenTech strategy is about leveraging Digital Technology to positively impact our world.
In 2023, we are developing a GreenTech strategy that will be integrated into our overall Product and Tech strategy. This GreenTech strategy has 3 main components:
Every time someone chooses to buy a used item instead of something new, they’re making a choice that helps the environment. This is the Second Hand Effect. Every year, we produce a report that calculates the potential savings in greenhouse gas emissions and the use of materials associated with choosing second-hand goods over new goods. Although second-hand products can have a significant environmental impact in various phases of their lifecycle, our report focuses on the potential savings at the manufacturing stage. These savings are brought to life in the Report with illustrations that contrast all the resources that go into manufacturing a new product and therefore can be potentially saved by buying a second-hand product. The results are eye opening. Take a look.
Every time someone chooses to buy a used item instead of something new, they’re making a choice that helps the environment. This is the Second Hand Effect. Every year, we produce a report that calculates the potential savings in greenhouse gas emissions and the use of materials associated with choosing second-hand goods over new goods. Although second-hand products can have a significant environmental impact in various phases of their lifecycle, our report focuses on the potential savings at the manufacturing stage. These savings are brought to life in the Report with illustrations that contrast all the resources that go into manufacturing a new product and therefore can be potentially saved by buying a second-hand product. The results are eye opening. Take a look at the report.
Second Hand Effect 2021 report
