Depop, the community-powered marketplace app to buy and sell unique fashion, has been certified as a climate neutral company for the first time by leading climate solutions provider South Pole.
Becoming a climate-neutral company by the end of 2021 was a key milestone set out in Depop’s 2022 Sustainability Plan, and confirms that the company has successfully offset all material sources of scope 1-3 greenhouse gas emissions*. Depop has been retroactively offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from shipping since January 2020 and has now expanded this to cover the rest of its material measured emissions, including its offices and utilities, IT equipment and cloud services, and employees’ travel and work from home activities. The South Pole certificate for 2021 covers 100% of material scope 1-3 emissions during 2020.
This month, Depop has also become a member of the Tech Zero Taskforce - a group of tech companies of all sizes around the world who are committed to fighting the climate crisis. Tech Zero is an official partner to the UN Race to Zero and is backed by the UK Government. As a member company, Depop will continue to measure scope 1-3 emissions and plans to expand the boundaries of its scope 3 emissions to include packaging and associated end user's energy use.
Justine Porterie, Global Head of Sustainability at Depop, said: "Becoming climate neutral is an important step on our journey towards making Depop actively kinder to people and the planet. We believe in setting ambitious goals and focusing our efforts on delivering results and iterating fast - so now that we’ve achieved this milestone, we will shift our focus towards net zero. We look forward to working with Tech Zero on the next leg of our climate journey."
Bethan Halls, Regional Director at South Pole, said: "Depop already encourages sustainable consumer behaviour and achieved climate neutrality for its shipping emissions in 2020. It is further amplifying its climate leadership efforts by scaling up this achievement to now compensate for its scope 1 - 3 emissions. We are pleased to award Depop South Pole’s climate neutral company label for 2021."
By partnering with South Pole, Depop worked to quantify and compensate for all of its 2020 measured emissions by funding two global climate action projects:
Kariba Forest Protection, Zimbabwe - Each year, Kariba Forest Protection project prevents more than 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere by preventing deforestation and land degradation of nearly 785,000 hectares of forest. By promoting local and sustainable economic opportunities, the project displaces the need for communities to clear the forest for subsistence farming and fuelwood. Among the numerous initiatives deployed, the Kariba project provides clean water to health clinics, teaches sustainable farming techniques and invests in youth education, subsidising several schools through learning materials, building materials and teachers’ salaries. And, with 40% of participants being women, the project also promotes gender equality.
Dora-II Geothermal project, Turkey - The Dora-II Geothermal project is located in Turkey, one of the world’s top producers of cotton and a major supplier of the fashion industry. The project works to reduce Turkey’s reliance on imported fossil fuels through the financing of a geothermal power plant near Izmir, in the Aegean region. Harnessing heat from deep within the earth, the power plant generates clean, emissions-free geothermal electricity for the national grid. The project also contributes to regional economic and social development by creating jobs and subsidising a local school.
*The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies a company’s GHG emissions into three 'scopes'. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.