HANGZHOU, CHINA: Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) announced a pledge to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030 and introduced a Scope 3+ target, a pioneering initiative aiming to facilitate 1.5 gigatons of decarbonisation across its business ecosystem by 2035.
"We aspire to be a force for positive, innovative change in society. Our ESG strategy is predicated on our mission to be a good company that will live for 102 years and it is the vital foundation for Alibaba's future development," said Alibaba Group chairman and CEO, Daniel Zhang.
Details about its goals, including thinking and definition of the newly introduced concept of Scope 3+, are shared in its inaugural Alibaba Carbon Neutrality Action Report.
PIONEERING "SCOPE 3+" ASPIRATION
The company has initiated the "1.5 Gigatons for 1.5 degree Celsius" project, committing to facilitate 1.5 gigatons of decarbonisation in its ecosystem by 2035.
In addition, as a global leading platform company, Alibaba is committed to taking greater responsibility to pioneer the concept of "Scope 3+," which refers to the emissions generated by a broader range of participants in the platform's ecosystem, currently outside of the Scopes 1 —direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions; 2 —indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling; and 3 —emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation, but indirectly impacts in its value chain.
"The concept of 'Scope 3+' is based on the potential of leveraging our digital platforms to influence and advocate for low carbon products, services and behaviour among a wider group of stakeholders in our ecosystem, and share our energy-efficient technologies and innovative business tools with customers and business partners to reduce the carbon footprint together," said Alibaba Group vice president and Chair of Alibaba's Sustainability Steering Committee, Dr Chen Long.
CARBON NEUTRALITY ROADMAP
Alibaba Group has set a 50 per cent carbon intensity reduction target 2030 using 2020 levels as baseline. Alibaba Cloud will bear responsibility for a higher Scope 3 target and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by
2030 in all three scopes.
"We will leverage our unique influence as a platform operator to mobilise actions and behavioural changes among consumers, merchants and partners in China and around the world with our newly proposed Scope 3+ target of reducing 1.5 gigatons of carbon emissions by 2035," said Zhang.
The company, in a statement, state that it will joins the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and has aligned its decarbonisation measures and strategy with the "Business Ambition for 1.5 degree Celsius" pledge, a critical target to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change as outlined by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
"We believe the use of digital platforms can play a significant role in empowering a low carbon circular economic model that can lead to achieving the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement.
As a general principle, the company prioritises carbon reduction over removal, and removal over offset.
Alibaba will also adopt a systematic and science-based approach to plan and manage decarbonisation initiatives. It includes leveraging energy-saving and efficiency-improving technologies to reduce
emissions; actively transforming the energy structure with progressive use of renewables; and exploration of carbon removal initiatives.