How The World’s Largest Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Service Went Carbon Neutral
A case-study of Turo by SCS Global Services
Executive Summary
With a fleet of more than 330,000 vehicles, 3.1 million active guests, and availability in more than 11,000+ cities across the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Australia (as of March 31, 2023), Turo has become an industry disruptor in the peer-to-peer car sharing space, offering a modern alternative to traditional car rental agencies. Founded in 2009, the company boasts an impressive inventory of over 1,400 makes and models to meet the personal mobility needs of a wide variety of consumers.
The Problem
As the world’s largest peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace, Turo knew it was important to start to address the company’s impact on the climate in a meaningful way. An important part of Turo’s mission in putting the 1.5 billion cars to better use is also ensuring the world’s existing resources are put to better use. In 2021, Turo pledged to offset 100 percent of its estimated global carbon emissions, based on the estimated total number of miles driven on Turo trips and all emissions from the global office footprint. Turo wanted to partner with SCS Global Services to better understand the scope of its carbon footprint with the hope of making the transportation industry more sustainable.
Solutions Provided
The next step was to help Turo identify and validate carbon offset projects that resonated with its brand values and sustainability goals. As part of their carbon neutral certification, Turo chose to invest in the J.B. Hunt Transportation Efficiency Project, which is anticipated to reduce GHG emissions from the transport of goods by 50 percent, as well as the Kootznoowoo Forestry Project, which will help protect 20,000 acres of forest on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, including approximately 8,000 acres of old-growth forest. As part of the ongoing carbon reduction requirements that are built into SCS carbon neutral certification, Turo will also continue expanding its electric vehicle (EV) initiatives that include increasing the number of electric and hybrid vehicles available on the platform and encouraging guests to drive more hybrid and electric vehicle-based trips. In 2022, roughly 14 percent of the company’s Gross Booking Value (GBV) came from trips taken with a vehicle running on alternative energy.
"I’m proud of the steps we — our employees and vibrant community of hosts and guests — have collectively taken to reduce our environmental footprint while enjoying all that Turo has to offer. In addition to being carbon neutral certified by SCS Global Services, Turo has offered access to a wide selection of electric vehicles since 2012, helping drive the adoption of EVs, and has some of the most sought after and recently launched makes and models available to book today. We expect EV adoption to increase, and will continue to champion this growth by building a rich supply of electric and hybrid vehicles on the platform.” – Andre Haddad, CEO, Turo
Results
On April 18, 2023, Turo became the first global peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace to be certified carbon neutral. The certification is a testament to Turo’s continued efforts in the fight against climate change.
Key Outcomes and Plans Going Forward
- Full understanding of the totality of emissions that make up Turo’s full carbon footprint
- Deeper knowledge of the varying types and sources of data used to calculate an accurate corporate footprint
- Improved programs to support hosts in purchasing and listing their EVs on the Turo platform
- New partnerships in the electric vehicle space to drive more EV trips
- Improving the Turo experience through product changes to elevate EV offerings
Download Turo's case-study here.
For more information about Carbon Neutral Certification please contact:
Dave Jonas Program Manager, Carbon Services
+1 510.838.1033
djonas@scsglobalservices.com
