Alibaba Group pledged 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.
Details about its goals, including thinking and definition of the newly introduced concept of Scope 3+, have been shared in the inaugural Alibaba Carbon Neutrality Action Report. Alibaba aims to provide updates annually with progress verified by accredited auditors.
“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 Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO.
“We will leverage our unique influence as a platform operator to mobilise actions and behavioral 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.”
Alibaba Group has faced a lot of ire recently from the Chinese government, which has introduced strict anti-monopoly laws and Alibaba was the first technology giant to be fined a record 18.2 billion yuan (nearly USD2.8 billion) earlier this year. The company later pledged to invest 100 billion yuan (USD15.5 billion) over the next few years into the country’s “common prosperity” initiatives announced by President Xi Jinping’s to spread wealth.
Alibaba Group is committed to carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and has set a 50% carbon intensity reduction target for Scope 3 by 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.
The group has committed to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and has aligned its decarbonisation measures and strategy with the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” pledge, a critical target to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change as outlined by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Alibaba will 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. As a general principle, the company prioritises carbon reduction over removal, and removal over offset.
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, 2, and 3. It has initiated the “1.5 Gigatons for 1.5°C” project, committing to facilitate 1.5 gigatons of decarbonization in its ecosystem by 2035.
Dr. Chen Long, Vice President of Alibaba Group and Chair of Alibaba’s Sustainability Steering Committee, said: “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.
“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.”
Alibaba will continue to improve its carbon reduction measurement and metrics in Scope 3+ by working and partnering with leading expert organisations globally. It also created a new three-tier ESG governance framework to oversee, enable and support the achievement of its carbon neutrality targets and broader ESG goals.
Meanwhile, Alibaba aims to continue to improve information and data disclosure and reporting mechanism. Starting in 2022, Alibaba will aim to release its ESG report annually, in which concrete and specific annual progress will be included. All reports will adhere to the most reputable metrics laid out in domestic and international standards and will be verified by accredited auditors.
