eBay – Cindy Chen – 2009

Goals

Cindy Chen spent her summer working at eBay in San Jose, CA, to identify opportunities to help eBay reach their 2012 commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent from their 2008 baseline. 

Solutions

An MBA student from Berkeley, she analyzed the company’s energy use, as well as the sources from which it was derived. Chen recommended a series of energy efficiency projects as well as offsetting the company’s dependency on grid electricity with renewable sources.

Potential Impact

Chen’s analysis of eBay office facilities, which comprise approximately 34 percent of the company’s total corporate footprint, identified low-hanging energy efficiency opportunities. For example, by simply eliminating individual mini-fridges and desk heaters, eBay could recognize immediate savings and reduce its energy consumption by more than 245,000 kWh, while avoiding approximately 60 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.