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| eBay Inc. strives to act with environmental intelligence, from the way we think about our core businesses to the way we build, buy and operate. We do this in partnership with our employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
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eBay, PayPal and Skype: Green at Our Core All three of our core businesses seize on the efficiencies of the internet, empowering people to do more with less: to shop without driving to the mall, to pay without a paper check, and to connect and communicate without special equipment and without travel. We believe that these efficiencies may also deliver environmental benefits, just in the course of everyday operation. For example:
Evaluating our Environmental Impact In an effort to gain further insight into our corporate environmental impact, eBay Inc. worked with leading environmental consultant ICF International to prepare a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory in 2007 based on 2006 data. Our inventory included our Scope 1 emissions (generators and company-owned transport) as well as several sources of Scope 2 emissions (all office and data center energy use, from facilities both owned and leased, worldwide). We are doing the same in 2008 based on 2007 data, and we are exploring the inclusion of additional Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions sources. Reducing our Footprint Having a better understanding of our footprint allows us to identify high-impact efficiency projects that help us to conserve resources - both natural and financial. We are taking steps to improve our energy efficiency and reduce our consumption of other natural resources. For example, we performed a technology refresh in our data centers in 2007 that resulted in a 25% improvement in energy efficiency. In addition, we opened a new building at our San Jose North location in May 2008 that was designed and built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard for new construction. Building features - such as an automatic dimming system and low-flow water fixtures - will deliver energy savings of approximately 30-40% and will reduce water consumption by nearly 30%. Investing in Alternative Energy In early 2008, we turned on a 650 kW solar installation at our San Jose North location - the largest commercial installation in the city to date. The 3,248 panels cover more than a football field of roof space and will take up to 18% of our energy demand at that campus off the grid completely. Balancing our Impact While reducing our footprint and considering alternatives are the right first steps, eBay Inc. has also elected in 2007 and 2008 to balance the remainder of our impact through investment in carbon offset projects around the world. These additional, verifiable projects represent ways to reduce carbon emissions immediately while also contributing to the development of long-term sustainable industries. With an understanding of our footprint, we engaged a team of employees, guided by a consulting firm, ICF International, to develop guidelines for our offset investments. To date, we have invested in five high quality offset projects around the world: a wind project in China, a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon, a conservation forestry project in Madagascar, an agricultural methane capture project in the United States (Wisconsin) and a landfill gas capture project in Mexico. Engaging Employees As we began to focus more on sustainability, we quickly found that this is an area of great interest to many of our employees worldwide. This led to the formation of what we call our "Green Team" - a group of volunteer employees who are empowered with the information and tools they need to be a part of the solution. The group has grown from about 40 employees in May 2007 to now over 1,200 in more than 20 countries around the world. The Green Team works on projects to make our operations more environmentally friendly, ranging from analysis of potential investments to reduce our environmental impact to improving the availability of reusable dishware, reducing paper use and encouraging use of high-fuel efficiency vehicles. The team also takes advantage of company-negotiated deals, such as discounts on the installation of residential solar and the purchase of personal carbon offsets. We also operate commuter shuttles at several of our locations to improve employee quality of life while simultaneously minimizing our environmental impact. Empowering Customers Since we started on this journey, it has been our goal to share what we've learned with our hundreds of millions of customers. This remains an area of opportunity for us, and we have begun to take the right steps. One of the largest environmental externalities of our business is the shipping that occurs between sellers and buyers as a result of eBay marketplace transactions. Decisions about both shipping modes and shipping materials are made by individual customers, but we aim to provide thoughtful tools and solutions. For example, we had heard from customers that they were concerned with the environmental integrity of available packaging materials. So, in 2007, we worked with the United States Postal Service to introduce new, environmentally friendly co-branded priority mail packaging. This packaging has been Cradle-to-Cradle certified, and is available free in the USPS shipping hub on eBay.com. In addition, in both 2007 and 2008, we offered a seminar at eBay Live! about "greening" our customers' eBay businesses. Learn more at http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2008/06/green-is-the-ne.html. Working with Other External Stakeholders Tackling climate change and other environmental challenges requires dedication and teamwork. To share best practices and aggregate impact, we collaborate regularly with nonprofit advocates, government entities and peer companies through organizations such as Sustainable Silicon Valley, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the World Resources Institute Green Power Market Development Group and Business for Social Responsibility. We have also begun to engage in related public policy discussions, and in 2007 signed the Bali Communiqué on Climate Change to call for a comprehensive, legally-binding United Nations framework to address climate change. Next Steps This is a journey, and we're just getting started. As we move forward, we hope to learn more, continue to improve our efforts, and share our learnings with our employees, our customers, and our communities. For more information on eBay Inc.'s Environmental Activities, please inquire at http://news.ebay.com/media-request.cfm. For information on eBay Inc.'s Social Ventures, please see http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/socialventures.html, and for information on eBay Inc.'s Philanthropic Programs, please see http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/philanthropicprograms.html. |
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 This new eBay Inc. building in San Jose was designed and built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard. Its energy efficient features, water-saving fixtures, and smart building materials help us save resources—both natural and financial. Photo: © Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing  This aerial photograph of eBay's San Jose North campus shows our 650 kW solar installation. Covering 60,000 square feet of roof space, the system will take up to 18% of our demand off the grid. Photo: SolarCity  The Omaha Green Team gives away compact fluorescent lightbulbs, shows off their new electric security vehicle, and raises money to plant new trees on campus.  New Cradle-to-Cradle certified, co-branded packaging is available free of charge for customers in the USPS Shipping Hub. |
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