How Zeelo became the 1st global bus platform to offer 100% carbon neutral services?

#1 – Deciding on our goals: We decided that Zeelo should be carbon neutral RIGHT NOW and reach zero-emissions status, with electric and/or hydrogen vehicles, by 2030 in developed markets and by 2035 in emerging markets.

Today we’re focused on being completely carbon-neutral and helping our clients achieve net-zero commutes and school runs.

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#2 – Finding a partner to work with on carbon neutrality: There is an entire industry designed to allow companies to measure and offset their carbon emissions. The industry has its share of criticism: it’s unregulated, unstandardised and not transparent enough, and, regardless, we should all strive to not generate emissions in the first place. But despite the downfalls, and in light of our ESG strategy to be carbon neutral, this was the best option for us. We chose to work with Climate Partner, but there are many similar companies in the market.

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#3 – Measuring transportation emissions: To be able to offset emissions, we needed to know how much emissions we generated. We’re lucky enough to have a great platform & data team and are able to achieve the granularity of each and every particular service on any day.

First, we undertook a historical analysis. We calculated the (1) number of kilometres/miles on our services (2) per different vehicle type. Then, by matching to Climate partner’s emissions numbers, we were able to determine exactly how many GHG emissions we generated, per client per service.

Now, understanding how to determine our mileage and how it translates into each vehicle’s GHG emissions, we looked into the future. This method has helped us to ensure that all of our customers’ journeys are carbon-neutral. Using existing and forecasted journeys and sales data, we’ve built a model that allows us to offset 3-6 months in advance.

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#4 – Offsetting transportation emissions: In 2021, Zeelo generated 3,250 tons of GHG. This number does not take into account the GHG emissions that are saved thanks to taking cars off-road but only the emissions generated by our vehicles. We decided to invest in three different projects.

Now, Zeelo offers carbon-neutral journeys.

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#5 – What’s next: Offsetting emissions isn’t enough. Zeelo is actively encouraging partner mobility suppliers across our supply chain to switch to electric vehicles and is actively assisting in the transition. We’re also taking sustainability considerations when building transportation services, aimed at decreasing mileage. While offsetting is important, it is just one tool in the box. At the end of 2022, 5% of Zeelo trips were made using electric vehicles, and we are continuing to work towards our target of 100% net zero transport services by 2030.

Epilogue: We’re proud to be the #1 global bus platform to offer carbon-neutral journeys and would like to see the entire mobility industry contribute to zero emissions. If you have any questions or suggestions please reach out to Hafsa Ameen, Zeelo’s Head of Strategy.