Analyzing the Avoided Emissions of Shopping Second-Hand with Schibsted Marketplaces
Schibsted Marketplaces’ Recommerce area within FINN, Tori, DBA & Blocket Avoided 350K Tonnes CO2e in 2023
While the retail industry grapples with its significant environmental footprint, the push towards circular business models is imperative but there is still a lack of robust data on saved impact. Together, Vaayu and Schibsted Marketplaces are harnessing a new level of granular data to examine the reduced impact of buying second-hand across key Nordic marketplaces. The partnership is targeted at filling the data void while setting new benchmarks for the industry and showcasing the potential of circular models.
The Data Gap in Measuring the True Impact of Circular Business Models
The retail industry is collectively responsible for 25% of global emissions. Circular business models are crucial in mitigating the industry’s impact and helping to avoid emissions, but until recently, accurate data to quantify their effects at scale was missing.
Vaayu and Schibsted Marketplaces collaborated to delve into the environmental impacts and benefits of second-hand transactions within the Recommerce area of ts marketplaces in the Nordics, including FINN in Norway, Tori in Finland, DBA in Denmark and Blocket in Sweden during the year 2023.
In recent years, Schibsted Marketplaces had already calculated its avoided emissions within a different scope from this report. By working with Vaayu, the team wanted to build upon and improve the methodologies used previously — including expanding the product data sample to all relevant listings from the entire year 2023 and assessing region-relevant Replacement Rates — to provide a more accurate and granular overview of avoided emissions.
Quantifying Schibsted Marketplaces’ Operational Footprint and Avoided Emissions Using Consequential LCA
The objective of the analysis was to rigorously analyze and quantify the avoided emissions for the Recommerce area within Schibsted Marketplaces’ in 2023 through consequential life cycle assessment (LCA).
We did this by targeting both direct and indirect emissions from operations, packaging and deliveries, alongside assessing the Replacement Rate — the probability that second-hand purchases replaced the need for new products.
Vaayu carried out specialist research with users across the Nordic markets to gain a deeper insight into their behavior concerning second-hand purchases. The surveys targeted active buyers and sellers and focused on categories ranging from Clothing to Home Goods and Electronics. The aim was to dive deeper and understand behaviors around second-hand purchases and their impact on reducing carbon emissions.
We incorporated close to 2,800 user survey responses, representing a cross-section of each market based on factors such as product categories and purchase recency.
In addition, to calculate the avoided emissions for the Recommerce area within each marketplace, we analyzed almost 16 million second-hand transactions across all relevant product categories using Kria, Vaayu’s proprietary LCA Impact Modelling Engine and database.
Calculating Avoided Emissions
Schibsted’s Operational Footprint was also calculated for Recommerce within the four marketplaces — guided by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard — and the carbon emissions from relevant Scopes 1-3 emissions categories were integrated into the analysis.
By merging this quantitative and qualitative data, the analysis was designed to offer precise insights that can enhance sustainability strategies across Schibsted Marketplaces while strongly validating the environmental benefits of circular models.
Robust Life Cycle Analysis Across Multiple Second-Hand Marketplaces
The findings offer a foundational understanding and clear benchmarks for the Recommerce area within Schibsted Marketplaces' ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and support sustainable consumer choices. The report also demonstrated how second-hand commerce can help avoid carbon emissions and is advancing a more sustainable retail industry.
Collectively, within the Recommerce area, FINN, Tori, DBA and Blocket avoided almost 350K tonnes of carbon emissions in 2023
The avoided emissions are equivalent to almost 2 million car journeys from Oslo to Stockholm and back
FINN is the largest of the marketplaces analyzed and, even alone, avoided significant climate impact, standing out with the highest total net avoided emissions
Vaayu and Schibsted Marketplaces are contributing valuable insights into the retail industry’s environmental impact through their detailed analysis of second-hand marketplaces. The collaboration highlights the potential for circular business models to help reduce emissions, providing practical examples for the retail sector to consider more sustainable practices and encouraging the circular economy shift.