Home sharing through Airbnb supports sustainable travel: Airbnb Hosts use existing infrastructure — their homes — to welcome guests. Sustainability is also important to guests. More than 80 percent of US consumers believe Airbnb helps people travel in a more environmentally sustainable way.
Today, Airbnb is committing to a goal to operate as a Net Zero company by 2030, reducing carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions associated with our global corporate operations2 and investing in quality nature-based solutions to offset residual emissions. This commitment is the latest step we are taking to help address the climate crisis. In 2020 we made a commitment to achieve 100-percent renewable electricity use for our corporate operations, and earlier this year, we became a founding participant in the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, a new public-private initiative that has mobilized $1 billion to fight tropical deforestation.
“Addressing climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our generation,” said Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky. “Committing to Net Zero is the latest action we’re taking to lower carbon emissions and we will continue to work with our community to promote sustainable travel.”
To achieve the goal of becoming a Net Zero company by 2030, we are committing to a number of steps, including:
- Rapid decarbonization: We will develop reduction targets for all scopes of emissions, in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement.3 Our targets will include the following:
- Operations: Power our corporate operations with renewable energy and undertake waste and water reduction measures.
- Vendors: Partner with our corporate vendors to help them reduce their carbon footprints.
- Employees: Help our employees reduce the footprint associated with their commute (e.g., encouraging the use of public transportation), and help support adoption of renewable energy for their homes through partnerships offering community solar and green utility programs. We launched a renewable energy program for our employees based in the US this year and are exploring expanding this offering.
- Measurement and transparency: Annually, we will measure and publish our carbon and greenhouse gas footprint for our corporate operations, as well as report on progress towards our targets.
- Reinvestment in nature: We will invest in high-quality nature-based offsets that protect the natural world and the communities that rely on it, including as part of our participation in the LEAF Coalition.
