Airbnb : Corporate Sustainability Update PDF Format

Airbnb Corporate Sustainability Update

Corporate Emissions Footprint and

Progress Against Goals

September 2022

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In 2021, Airbnb committed to a goal of operating as a net zero company for our corporate operations1 by 2030 - a goal of reducing our corporate greenhouse gas emissions in line with our science-based targets, and using high-quality,nature-based solutions to address our residual emissions, by 2030. This document provides an update on our corporate greenhouse gas footprint, our progress in reducing these emissions, and our plan to reach our net zero goals. Highlights include:

• Setting emissions reduction targets that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
• Achieving 100 percent renewable energy in our global offices.2
• Launching a supplier sustainability program to drive scope 3 emissions reductions.
• Continuing to invest in high quality nature-based solutions to help protect the natural world.

1. Including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions associated with our corporate operations as outlined in Appendix A.
2. We matched our global corporate electricity use with renewable energy for 2020 and 2021 by purchasing energy attribute certificates (i.e., renewable energy certificates, guarantees of origin, or similar instruments) sufficient to match 100 percent of our global electricity use for our corporate operations for those years. Our 2020 renewable energy purchases are not reflected in our Scope 2 GHG emissions measurement for 2020 because the energy attribute certificates for 2020 had not been delivered at the time we completed our emissions inventory for that year.

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Measuring our corporate greenhouse gas emissions footprint

Airbnb has measured our greenhouse gas emissions, guided by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Accounting and Reporting Standards and working with Watershed, our third-party sustainability partner, starting with 2019 as our baseline year. This measurement helps us understand the sources of our emissions, identify possible ways to reduce them, and monitor our progress over time. Going forward, we plan to measure the GHG footprint for our corporate operations each year, along with the progress toward our reduction targets.

The following chart outlines our greenhouse gas emissions by scope over the past three years (2019 to 2021).

Corporate GHG Emissions by Scope (2019-2021)

GHG Emissions	Unit	2019	20203	2021
Scope 1	MTCO2e	815	844	807
Direct emissions from
stationary combustion
(natural gas)
Scope 2	MTCO2e	6,358	5,2392	0
Indirect emissions from
purchased electricity
(market-based)
Scope 34 (Absolute)	MTCO2e	387,785	209,926	254,867
Indirect emissions that
are calculated throughout
the upstream and
downstream value chain
Total	MTCO2e	394, 958	216,009	255,674
Scope 3 (Emissions	MTCO2e/$1M gross profit5	108	84	53
Intensity)

1. 2020 was an anomaly: total emissions were 45.3 percent lower than 2019 as a result of Covid-19-driven reductions such as lower spending with suppliers, employee business travel and commuting.
2. Airbnb's Scope 3 emissions measurement includes the following categories defined by the GHG Protocol: 3.1 Purchased goods and services, 3.2 Capital goods, 3.3 Fuel- and energy-related activities (not included in Scope 1 and Scope 2), 3.5 Waste generated in operations, 3.6 Business travel, 3.7 Employee commuting, and 3.8 Upstream leased assets.
3. Scope 3 emissions intensity measured using the economic intensity method as set by SBTi's Greenhouse Gas Emissions per
   Value Added (GEVA). SBTi provides that the term "value added" can be defined as gross profit, operating profit, revenue minus the cost of purchased goods and services, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) plus all personnel costs. "Gross profit" for purposes of Airbnb's emissions intensity measurement is calculated as revenue minus cost of revenue.

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Summary

• Our Scope 1 emissions did not change significantly between 2019 and 2021.
• We reduced our Scope 2 emissions by 100 percent from 2019 due to our purchase of renewable energy to match our global corporate electricity use for 2021.2
• Our Scope 3 (absolute) emissions declined by 34.3 percent from 2019 to 2021, driven by a mix of overall cost management, pandemic-related reductions in spending, and reduced business travel and employee-related emissions driven by the move to hybrid and remote work. As we work toward our net zero goal, our target for Scope 3 corporate emissions is to reduce our emissions intensity in line with SBTi guidelines.

A detailed view of Airbnb's emissions breakdown is available in Appendix A.6

6 We engaged an external third party to provide limited assurance over certain metrics disclosed. Their report is available here.

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Reducing our corporate emissions as part of our net zero goal

While we're proud of the progress we have made to date, we know there is much more work to be done. We have developed GHG emissions reduction targets for all scopes of emissions associated with our global corporate operations. These targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) - the lead partner of the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign.7

By 2030, we are committing to reducing our corporate emissions as follows from our 2019 baseline year:

• Reducing Scope 1 and 2 (absolute) emissions by 78.4 percent.
• Reducing Scope 3 emissions intensity (MtCO2e/$1M gross profit) by 55 percent.

Our targets help define our emissions reduction efforts on our path to net zero. More information about the steps we are taking toward these targets is below.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions

We are matching our office electricity use with 100 percent renewable energy purchases, allowing us to meet - and exceed - our Scope 1 and 2 science based targets. As a member of the RE100, a global corporate renewable energy initiative bringing together businesses committed to 100 percent renewable electricity, we plan to continue sourcing renewable energy according to RE100 standards, and, further, to look for opportunities to transition to more direct sources of renewable energy.8

We also plan to take additional steps to continue reducing these emissions, including:

• Improving office energy data collection to help our teams identify energy efficiency opportunities.
• Conducting a detailed building sustainability review for our San Francisco headquarters, beginning this year.
• Refining our office sustainability guidelines to identify further emissions reduction opportunities in our buildings, and the materials used to create them.

1. Airbnb's emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. According to SBTi, the targets covering greenhouse gas emissions from Airbnb's operations (Scopes 1 and 2) are consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, what the latest climate science has told us is needed to prevent the most damaging effects of climate change. Airbnb's target for the emissions from our value chain (Scope 3 for corporate operations) meet the SBTi's criteria for ambitious value chain goals, meaning they are in line with current best practice.
2. As noted in footnote 2, we matched our global corporate electricity use with renewable energy for 2020 and 2021 by purchasing energy attribute certificates (i.e., renewable energy certificates, guarantees of origin, or similar instruments) sufficient to match 100 percent of our global electricity use for our corporate operations for those years. Specifically with regard to the RE100 technical criteria, for 2020, the renewable energy we sourced was approximately 88 percent compliant (as we were unable to source renewable energy locally in certain markets due to lack of availability and low volumes), and for 2021, we sourced renewable energy to be 100 percent compliant with the RE100 technical criteria.

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