Watershed Case Studies Shopify's Transition to a Remote-First, Climate Conscious Business Model

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	Shopify's Transition to a Remote-First, Climate Conscious Business Model Watershed

Shopify's Transition to a Remote-First, Climate Conscious Business Model

Watershed

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Computer Vision Software Sensors - Utility Meters
Applicable Industries	Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases	Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems Last Mile Delivery
Challenge	Shopify, a global e-commerce platform, faced a significant challenge in accurately measuring its carbon footprint as it transitioned to a remote-first work model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's traditional carbon inventory, which focused on emissions from physical offices and commutes, became nearly obsolete. The shift to remote work raised several questions about the real-world impact on carbon emissions. For instance, while closing large offices seemed beneficial for reducing emissions, the addition of over 7,000 employee home offices could potentially offset these gains. Other factors such as increased flights for in-person offsites, employees moving to larger suburban homes, and changes in home heating and cooling practices also complicated the carbon emissions picture. Furthermore, Shopify's old measurement tools did not account for the company's Scope 3 emissions, which include indirect emissions across the value chain and often make up to 80% of a product or service’s total carbon profile. Read More
About Customer	Shopify is a leading global e-commerce platform that powers over 1.7 million businesses worldwide. The company, which started with a few people in a coffee shop, has grown to a team of more than 7,000 people in just fifteen years. Despite its rapid growth, Shopify maintains a hundred-year vision and is committed to addressing the looming threat of climate change. The company started work on climate early, mapping out their carbon footprint, converting their offices and cloud usage to renewable power, and buying offsets for corporate travel. They even launched a revenue-based sustainability fund with a starting $5m annual minimum. However, the transition to a remote-first work model due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges in accurately measuring and reducing their carbon footprint. Read More
Solution	To address these challenges, Shopify partnered with Watershed, a software that helps companies reduce their carbon footprint. Within a few weeks, Shopify was using Watershed to analyze their full carbon footprint and run different scenarios based on specific data about where most employees were moving and how clean the local grids were. This allowed Shopify to identify the right balance points to continue as a climate leader as they shifted to their remote-first work model. Additionally, Watershed was tasked with converting millions of lines of unstructured data covering capital investments, payments, IT infrastructure, and logistics into an x-ray of the full Scope 3 footprint. With their Watershed dashboard, Shopify can now generate instant automatic reports, run elaborate reduction scenarios, and get immediate answers based on real data. They’re also able to work with suppliers and teams to factor carbon into dozens of everyday decisions on everything from business travel strategies to the carbon impact of logistics. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Computer Vision Software

Sensors - Utility Meters

Applicable Industries

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems

Last Mile Delivery

Challenge

Shopify, a global e-commerce platform, faced a significant challenge in accurately measuring its carbon footprint as it transitioned to a remote-first work model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's traditional carbon inventory, which focused on emissions from physical offices and commutes, became nearly obsolete. The shift to remote work raised several questions about the real-world impact on carbon emissions. For instance, while closing large offices seemed beneficial for reducing emissions, the addition of over 7,000 employee home offices could potentially offset these gains. Other factors such as increased flights for in-person offsites, employees moving to larger suburban homes, and changes in home heating and cooling practices also complicated the carbon emissions picture. Furthermore, Shopify's old measurement tools did not account for the company's Scope 3 emissions, which include indirect emissions across the value chain and often make up to 80% of a product or service’s total carbon profile.

About Customer

Shopify is a leading global e-commerce platform that powers over 1.7 million businesses worldwide. The company, which started with a few people in a coffee shop, has grown to a team of more than 7,000 people in just fifteen years. Despite its rapid growth, Shopify maintains a hundred-year vision and is committed to addressing the looming threat of climate change. The company started work on climate early, mapping out their carbon footprint, converting their offices and cloud usage to renewable power, and buying offsets for corporate travel. They even launched a revenue-based sustainability fund with a starting $5m annual minimum. However, the transition to a remote-first work model due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges in accurately measuring and reducing their carbon footprint.

Solution

To address these challenges, Shopify partnered with Watershed, a software that helps companies reduce their carbon footprint. Within a few weeks, Shopify was using Watershed to analyze their full carbon footprint and run different scenarios based on specific data about where most employees were moving and how clean the local grids were. This allowed Shopify to identify the right balance points to continue as a climate leader as they shifted to their remote-first work model. Additionally, Watershed was tasked with converting millions of lines of unstructured data covering capital investments, payments, IT infrastructure, and logistics into an x-ray of the full Scope 3 footprint. With their Watershed dashboard, Shopify can now generate instant automatic reports, run elaborate reduction scenarios, and get immediate answers based on real data. They’re also able to work with suppliers and teams to factor carbon into dozens of everyday decisions on everything from business travel strategies to the carbon impact of logistics.

Impact #1	The partnership with Watershed has enabled Shopify to maintain its commitment to sustainability and climate leadership even as it transitions to a remote-first work model. The company now has a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of its carbon footprint, including previously overlooked Scope 3 emissions. This has allowed Shopify to make more informed decisions about how to reduce its carbon impact. For instance, they can now work with suppliers and teams to factor carbon into everyday decisions on everything from business travel strategies to the carbon impact of logistics. Furthermore, the ability to generate instant automatic reports and run reduction scenarios based on real data has significantly reduced the time required to assess the carbon impact of different business decisions. This ensures that Shopify's response to any future global challenges will be consistent with their vision of a prosperous and low-carbon future.

Impact #1

The partnership with Watershed has enabled Shopify to maintain its commitment to sustainability and climate leadership even as it transitions to a remote-first work model. The company now has a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of its carbon footprint, including previously overlooked Scope 3 emissions. This has allowed Shopify to make more informed decisions about how to reduce its carbon impact. For instance, they can now work with suppliers and teams to factor carbon into everyday decisions on everything from business travel strategies to the carbon impact of logistics. Furthermore, the ability to generate instant automatic reports and run reduction scenarios based on real data has significantly reduced the time required to assess the carbon impact of different business decisions. This ensures that Shopify's response to any future global challenges will be consistent with their vision of a prosperous and low-carbon future.

Benefit #1	Shopify was able to analyze their full carbon footprint within a few weeks of signing up for Watershed.
Benefit #2	Watershed converted millions of lines of unstructured data into an x-ray of the full Scope 3 footprint.
Benefit #3	Shopify can now generate instant automatic reports and run elaborate reduction scenarios based on real data.

Benefit #1

Shopify was able to analyze their full carbon footprint within a few weeks of signing up for Watershed.

Benefit #2

Watershed converted millions of lines of unstructured data into an x-ray of the full Scope 3 footprint.

Benefit #3

Shopify can now generate instant automatic reports and run elaborate reduction scenarios based on real data.

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Overview

Shopify's Transition to a Remote-First, Climate Conscious Business Model

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit