PayPal – Sabrina Wing Man Lam – 2025
Summary
Sabrina advanced PayPal’s Net-Zero Action Plan by strengthening the company’s Scope 3 strategy, expanding renewable energy opportunities, and exploring SAF as a decarbonization strategy.
Goals
Sabrina’s fellowship at PayPal focused on advancing the company’s Net-Zero Action Plan by refreshing PayPal’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies and setting new climate targets. Her work focused on enhancing PayPal’s Scope 3 emissions inventory, developing a new supplier engagement target, and exploring renewable energy and sustainable aviation (SAF) opportunities. These efforts position PayPal to better track net-zero progress and accelerate long-term emissions reductions.
Solutions
Sabrina advanced PayPal’s Net-Zero Action Plan by enhancing progress tracking and supporting key decarbonization initiatives. She strengthened PayPal’s Scope 3 inventory by integrating supplier data to improve inventory accuracy and used this revised inventory to form the basis of a new supplier engagement target. Additionally, Sabrina evaluated renewable energy procurement options for PayPal’s APAC offices, analyzing costs, vendors’ due diligence processes, and alignment with standards and guidance such as the GHG Protocol and RE 100. To address Scope 1 emissions, Sabrina researched SAF and assessed its feasibility as a decarbonization tool for aviation-related emissions. Her work produced actionable strategies to help PayPal accelerate its progress towards the company’s net-zero commitment.
Potential Impact
Sabrina’s work to enhance PayPal’s Scope 3 inventory created a stronger foundation for emissions tracking and supplier accountability. Her evaluation of renewable energy opportunities for PayPal’s APAC offices positioned the company to potentially increase its renewable energy portfolio to 97%. Additionally, her assessment of SAF demonstrated its potential to reduce aviation-related emissions by up to 22.5%. Collectively, these efforts strengthen PayPal’s ability to track emissions and accelerate its decarbonization strategy.
