An update on the race to decarbonize
We’re in the midst of a tipping point in the fight against climate change. This week’s IPCC report put the severity of the crisis in stark relief, and we’re seeing the grim evidence of climate impacts every day: record-breaking heat in the American West, deathly floods in Germany, and wildfires from Oregon to Siberia to Turkey.
But we’re also seeing momentum begin to tip towards a climate solution. After four years of climate denial, the US government has set a goal to get to net zero by 2050, and the infrastructure bill moving through Congress includes more than $50B for carbon removal, electric vehicles, and grid infrastructure. And climate governance is rapidly becoming a mainstream imperative for companies. The SEC is moving towards mandated climate disclosures, the UK accelerated their plan for obligatory TCFD reporting, and tens of billions of dollars are flowing to climate-focused investors. The race to decarbonize is on.
At Watershed, we’re lucky to have a front-row seat for this race. Since we announced Watershed in February, we’ve more than tripled the number of businesses we’re supporting in cutting carbon. These companies manage over 10 million metric tonnes of CO2e per year—more than double the carbon footprint of the city of San Francisco—and they’re working on aggressive plans to slash those emissions to zero.
We’ve started working with companies including Airbnb, Expensify, Everlane, Revolut, Monzo, and Vimeo. They join long-time Watershed partners like Square, Stripe, Shopify, DoorDash, and Sweetgreen, who have announced new progress on carbon removal, clean power, and agriculture. They’re all using Watershed’s software to count the carbon across their supply chain, execute on ambitious reduction plans, fund carbon removal, and share their progress. From the US to Canada to Europe, technology and finance to food and apparel, these companies represent a broad cross section of the geographies and sectors that need to decarbonize. They’re using their unique leverage to accelerate what Robinson Meyer has aptly called the green vortex.
As exciting as this progress is, it’s not enough. We have vanishingly little time to turn good intentions into real carbon reductions. At Watershed, we’re hiring aggressively—across all roles—to build the tools organizations need to accelerate their work. We need great people to join us, and would love to hear from you.