Executive Summary
Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, has voluntarily committed to 100% renewable energy. While it sources significant renewables locally, it supplements its electricity load with energy attribute certificates (EACs) through a partnership with 3Degrees.
The fluctuating market dynamics and varying electricity loads in the regions where Lime operates present hurdles to sourcing 100% renewables. Despite these challenges, 3Degrees successfully facilitated Lime’s access to these markets efficiently and seamlessly. Additionally, 3Degrees provided essential guidance to Lime, ensuring the company has a strategy to effectively fulfill its voluntary commitment each year.
Using global intel from 3Degrees, Lime built a strategy and procured a global EAC portfolio of distributed electricity load for three years. Through its purchases, Lime achieved:
- 100% renewable energy
- Global portfolio of EACs for 3 years across 33 total countries
- Lime’s renewables procurement has put it 5 years ahead of its scope 1 and 2 science-based target
Read the full case study below.
Background
Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, is on a mission to build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free. This commitment was first demonstrated in 2019 when it introduced its first electric vehicle, the original e-bike, and the decision to charge all batteries on 100% renewable energy. Today, Lime’s climate target has evolved to encompass all Lime facilities – over 100 worldwide – powered solely on renewable energy.
With hundreds of thousands of vehicles operating in cities around the world, Lime sources significant renewables locally. Collaborating with more than three dozen facilitators, Lime purchases renewable energy through utility companies or other location-specific renewable energy suppliers. When local sourcing isn’t feasible, Lime utilizes energy attribute certificates (EACs) to cover its remaining electricity load.
Recognizing the importance of a reliable partner to source EACs and provide guidance on its voluntary commitment to 100% renewable energy, Lime chose to partner with 3Degrees.
Challenges
The regions where Lime operates change year to year, as does Lime’s electricity load in each due to the evolving nature of global transportation needs. Procuring varying amounts of renewable energy each year across global markets can be difficult, especially when small volumes are needed from a handful of markets. 3Degrees worked with Lime to seamlessly facilitate access to these global renewable energy markets and provide market pricing insights to support Lime’s decision making.
Following Lime’s initial commitment to 100% renewable energy, another challenge emerged: timing its EAC purchases to align with its yearly electricity quantities. Understanding this requirement, 3Degrees provided essential guidance to Lime, ensuring the company was consistently meeting its voluntary commitment each year.
How We Helped
3Degrees advised Lime on the most credible global EAC options and helped them assess risk in each market, enabling the company to make informed and cost-effective procurement decisions. Lime procured its first global EAC portfolio through 3Degrees and continued to work with the 3Degrees team to refine its procurement strategy for the second and third year. In North America, that entailed procuring Green-e® certified renewable energy certificates (RECs), alongside other equally credible global options. Notably, all of its EACs were procured from non-emitting technologies – largely wind or solar.
To ensure Lime met annual reporting deadlines, the 3Degrees team shared best practices regarding renewable energy procurement timelines and vintages, assisting Lime in accelerating its purchasing timeline to align with these best practices.
This initiative has helped Lime reduce its scope 2 emissions by 100%, helping the company advance its 2023 net-zero science-based target which requires a 90% absolute emissions reduction for scopes 1 and 2. The company is five years ahead of this target and, in 2023, reduced company-wide emissions intensity by more than 50 percent.
Results
- Achieved 100% renewable energy
- Global portfolio of EACs for 3 years across 33 total countries
- Lime’s renewables procurement has put it 5 years ahead of its scope 1 and 2 science-based target
“Several years ago, many thought the transportation sector was furthest away from decarbonizing, since it has been so reliant upon burning fossil fuels for more than a century. At Lime, we’re now deploying a shared fleet of hundreds of thousands of e-bikes and e-scooters, powering more than 500 million rides with energy sources like the wind and the sun. Decarbonizing transportation isn’t just the future, it’s happening today.”