A Digital Marketplace Gains Financial Clarity for Becoming Net-Zero
Challenge
StockX initially sought TripleWin’s expertise in 2021 to fortify its ESG initiatives ahead of a planned IPO. TripleWin delivered a comprehensive carbon inventory, materiality assessment, and sustainability roadmap to support the company’s strategic business objectives.
Motivated by the CEO’s commitment to climate goals aligned with the Paris Accord, StockX sought to refresh its ESG strategy in 2023, leading to a request for TripleWin to update the company’s materiality assessment and to conduct a net carbon zero scenario analysis. StockX’s goal was to understand the financially viable pathways for achieving net-zero of the company’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Solutions Delivered
TripleWin conducted a comprehensive net carbon zero scenario analysis over a 3-month period. The analysis covered Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct emissions, and indirect emissions from purchased electricity) across the company’s global operational footprint, focusing on three key aspects:
- How: The technology levers for reducing and offsetting emissions to net zero.
- How soon: The timeline for achieving net-zero with selected technologies.
- How much: The financial cost and return associated with selected technologies.
The analysis presented three distinct scenarios, each scenario outlining a unique configuration of technology levers, timeline, and financial implications.
To build each scenario, TripleWin explored reduction and offset options specific to each location. Among the options considered were carbon offsets and carbon sequestration credits, green tariffs, power purchase agreements (PPAs), renewable energy certificates (RECs), microgrids, and on-site solar PV installation. TripleWin then ranked technologies by cost per unit — MWh for RECs, metric ton of CO2 for offsets, for example — and selected the most cost-efficient strategies for each scenario.
Project Learnings
The global operational footprint of StockX’s authentication centers necessitated extensive research into region-specific reduction and offset options. Availability, price, tax incentives, and future cost projections varied widely by technology and locale. Carbon sequestration credits, for example, ranged from $115 to $800 per metric ton of CO2.
Other factors ruled out certain options. The annualized amount of energy used by StockX’s authentication centers within certain regions, for example, made PPAs impractical.
The distinction between scenarios with and without solar panels provided a clear understanding of the comparative costs. A crucial metric, net present value (NPV), revealed that while all three scenarios had a net cost, installing solar panels was considerably cheaper than relying on offsets alone — up to $400k cheaper after accounting for projected returns and tax incentives. This sparked an “aha” moment for StockX leadership, which came to the project assuming that the upfront capital costs of developing renewables made it a less affordable choice.
Client Outcomes
The scenario analysis empowered StockX with a clear, financially manageable roadmap toward carbon neutrality. The concise presentation of options was easy to grasp, facilitating internal discussions. The analysis not only addressed StockX’s immediate need for informed decision-making, but also laid the foundation for setting science-based targets (SBTs) and a more robust roadmap that it could share publicly, if it chose to do so.
Since the analysis, StockX has been working to obtain internal buy-in at the board level and start implementing specific strategies to achieve its net-zero ambitions.
Experts
TripleWin Advisory is a boutique corporate consultancy focused on circularity solutions for industry. TripleWin offers a suite of tools to support clients in charting a practical, circular and sustainable course for their business. These tools include:
- Carbon inventories and setting science-based and Net Zero carbon goals
- Materiality assessments and sustainability roadmaps
- Building circular business models supported by financial analysis
- Risk scenario models using the TCFD framework
- Workshops and courses to build employee agency and corporate competency
We work with leaders in the following industries: apparel, footwear & textiles; information technology; metals; beauty; food & beverage; healthcare; building construction; human resource management; and retail.
TripleWin Advisory is an approved CDP climate change consultancy Accredited Service Provider (ASP). We are woman-founded, owned and led; a public benefit company.
StockX is a digital marketplace for the rarest and most coveted branded consumer products — from Nike Air Jordan sneakers and Rolex watches to Star Wars collectibles. The company matches sellers and buyers anonymously and authenticates all platform purchases at authentication centers strategically placed across the globe.
Headquarters:Detroit, Michigan
Industry:
Consumer Goods
Main Product:
Reselling branded consumer products
In their words
“TripleWin’s team of carbon accountants are experts at what they do and Renee Shade [Managing Director of Carbon Inventories] is a rockstar with data visualization.”