STOCKHOLM, June 30, 2021 – Klarna, a leading global retail bank, payments, and shopping service, today announces that the company is joining The Climate Pledge and the Race to Zero campaign. Klarna is to implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement in order to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in all scopes by 2040 at the latest. The announcement builds on the company’s commitment earlier this year to reduce its total emissions by 50% by 2030 and to use an internal carbon tax that is channeled into effective climate projects.
David Sandström, CMO of Klarna, says: “We as a global company have a great responsibility to tackle some of the most pressing challenges for our planet’s health. We therefore join forces with other major players to prevent long-term damage to our economies and ways of life. Managing Klarna’s environmental impact is a top priority for Klarna and we aim to further promote environmental awareness and knowledge among our employees, customers and partners.”
The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to reach net zero carbon emission by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Race to Zero is an UN-backed global campaign that aims to build a momentum around the shift to a decarbonized economy and thus halve all global emissions by 2030.
As part of the Climate Pledge Klarna commits itself to:
- Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis
- Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies
- Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions
By 2040, at the latest, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions permanently removed thanks to Klarna´s climate contributions will be at least as large as the company’s remaining emissions. More details on Klarnas total emissions and how the company is working to reduce them will be published in a separate climate report during the fall.
Klarna’s climate strategy is inspired by the WWF and BCG blueprint for corporate climate action, under which companies measure, display, reduce and price their emissions, and then financially contribute to high-impact climate projects to permanently remove carbon. The annual sum is established through an internal carbon tax set at $100/tonne for all scope 1, 2 and travel emissions (remaining scope 3 emissions set at $10/tonne).
These steps are part of Klarna´s larger sustainability initiative GiveOne that was announced on Earth Day this year. As part of the initiative, Klarna has allocated 1% of its latest funding rounds to initiatives supporting the planet. The donations will focus on backing initiatives tackling the most pressing challenges around climate change and loss of biodiversity.
About Klarna
With over 90 million global active users and 2 million transactions a day, Klarna is meeting the changing demands of consumers who want to shop, pay and bank on one intuitive platform and with one trusted brand. Over 250,000 global retail partners, including H&M, Saks, Sephora, Macys, IKEA, Expedia Group, Samsung, ASOS, Peloton, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike and Shein have enabled Klarna’s innovative shopping experience online and in-store. Klarna is one of the most highly valued private fintechs globally with a valuation of $45.6 billion. Klarna was founded in 2005, has over 4,000 employees and is active in 17 markets. Klarna has been backed by Sequoia Capital since 2010 and more recently, SilverLake, Dragoneer, Bestseller Group, Permira, Ant Group, HMI Capital, TCV, NorthZone, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock amongst others.
About The Climate Pledge and Race to Zero initiative
In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Now more than 100 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that demand will rapidly grow for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions.
Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial, educational, and healthcare institutions – to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time. All members are committed to the same overarching goal: reducing emissions across all scopes swiftly and fairly in line with the Paris Agreement, with transparent action plans and robust near-term targets
