Invested In Climate

Inside Atlassian's Sustainability Playbook, Ep #80

Jan 30, 2024

41:11

We all know that companies around the world are working to reduce their emissions and, hopefully, achieve net zero. But what does it take to set up a sustainability program? What are the steps in the process? What are the considerations along the way? And who are the partners one might work with?

Most of this work happens behind closed doors, but sharing insights from corporate sustainability journeys can accelerate progress.

That’s why Atlassian, a technology company with a real commitment to addressing climate change, decided to open up their own process and share what they learned in a really clear and straightforward playbook.

To learn more, I sat down with Atlassian Chief Sustainability Officer, Jess Hyman. Full disclosure: Jess is a member of NationSwell, the executive membership network and advisory, where I get to support impact and sustainability leaders like Jess. In today’s conversation, we walk step-by-step through Atlassian’s sustainability journey – from getting started, building internal buy-in, finding the right vendors, partners, and reporting protocols for reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, to reporting on progress as well as setbacks, and much more.

Whether or not you’re a corporate sustainability leader, this episode will help you understand what companies around the world are actually doing to address climate change. Enjoy.

In today’s episode, we cover:

[3:03] Jess’ background & path to sustainability work
[4:21] Jess’ work at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) & what she learned
[6:09] What is Atlassian & their core products
[6:44] Why Atlassian decided to share their sustainability journey
[8:34] The process of going to leadership to develop the report
[9:57] What is a materiality assessment & learnings
[11:57] Atlassian’s sustainability goals, what it took to develop & share them
[13:55] Sustaining internal collaboration
[16:15] Atlassian’s goal to reach net zero by 2040
[18:15] Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions & how they show up for Atlassian
[19:30] The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approval process
[22:00] Learnings around decarbonizing buildings
[23:40] What are Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs)
[25:51] Engaging suppliers to reduce emissions
[28:37] Transparency, accountability & reporting
[30:21] Addressing Work-From-Home (WFH) electricity
[31:49] What is the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA)
[34:24] What are residual emissions & how is Atlassian dealing with them
[36:00] The quality of offsets
[37:06] Reporting protocols & learnings
[38:56] Building executive buy-in for uncomfortable levels of ambition