The reason given by Etsy for this new policy relates to the retailer’s bid to assist with climate change, which is occurring more rapidly than initially anticipated. Etsy has indicated its sense of urgency to take action immediately.
In addition, for one day (February 28, 2019) Etsy offset shipping emissions from all online shopping in the U.S. (Amazon, eBay, Wayfair, Overstock, and so on). This effort is said to be the equivalent to protecting 100 square miles of forest for one year. By picking up competitor’s carbon tabs for the day, Etsy aims to raise awareness that offsets are a viable and affordable option that companies can take to mitigate their impact on the environment.
Etsy has also outlined other, specific projects to support the carbon natural initiative. At a high level, Etsy has partnered with 3Degrees to protect forests to improve air quality and absorb carbon, sponsor wind and solar farms that generate clean energy and replace fossil fuels, and develop greener methods for producing auto parts
Etsy has always had ‘green’ credentials. In 2016, the company committed to powering operations with 100 percent renewable electricity by 2020. This included the Power Purchase Agreement, designed to enable the development of a new solar farm. Other ventures included the migration to the Google Cloud Platform and installation of solar panels at the company’s offices.
The following video explains more about Etsy’s initiative:
Furthermore, Etsy achieved its goal of running zero waste operations globally in 2018, two years ahead of schedule. This had the effect of reducing the company’s energy intensity by 25 percent.
Plus the company is playing a role in the UPM Blandin Native American Hardwoods Conservation Project. In 2019, Etsy supporting the conservation of more than 10 million trees that form part of a large forest in Minnesota.
The company’s headquarters are also Living Building Challenge petal certified. This is a certification program relating to measures of sustainability (termed ‘petals’). The petals outline steps relating to the design, construction and the relationship between people and the built environment.
