WeWork – Chris Lazinski – 2019

Goals 

WeWork, a provider of shared workspace, is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. WeWork enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Chris Lazinski to quantify its global travel footprint, develop a carbon offset procurement strategy and research options to fund carbon offsets.

Solutions

Lazinski collected employee air and rideshare travel data from internal and external sources and quantified the associated emissions to build a comprehensive global footprint of company wide travel. Using these data, he was able to predict the cost and quantity of carbon offsets needed for the fiscal year.

Turning his attention to developing a policy framework, Chris researched the global voluntary carbon offset market including existing standards and programs. Lazinski proposed a carbon offset procurement policy to guide WeWork’s purchasing decisions. Chris also proposed a carbon pricing scheme that would add an internal carbon fee to each airline ticket to create a carbon offset fund.

Potential Impact

According to Lazinski’s projections, WeWork needs to purchase a certain amount of carbon dioxide equivalent in offsets to negate their 2019 annual air travel emissions footprint. The company’s carbon offset purchase will be based on Lazinski’s projections. The carbon pricing scheme recommendation was adopted by the Global Sustainability Team to fund offset purchases. Lazinski’s recommendations will help WeWork achieve its goal to reduce its carbon footprint.