Goals & Progress

Economic Empowerment

In the U.S., an eBay small business is defined as a seller with at least $10,000 and not more than $14,000,000 in 2024 GMV. In the U.K. and Germany, an eBay small business is defined as a seller that registered with eBay as a business when signing up for an account and did not exceed €10,000,000 in 2024 GMV. The GMV thresholds are based on the definition of a small business from the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.K. Government, and EU Commission, respectively.

eBay Foundation

In 2021, eBay Foundation embarked on a new strategic vision to increase our impact by expanding our focus to address not just what entrepreneurs need to survive but also what they need to thrive. While our support since then has included nonprofits that provide direct resources and support to small business entrepreneurs, we have continued expanding our investments in organizations creating a connected, resourced, and inclusive ecosystem to ensure entrepreneurship growth and success in the long term. To align with that strategic investment shift, we are revising down the target for businesses directly supported and expanding our metrics to now include network building efforts which we view as an impact amplifier that better speaks to and aligns with our shift in strategy.

Recommerce

Recommerce, or circular commerce, allows pre-owned products to have a longer life by conserving the energy, resources, and costs it would take to create new items from the entire product lifecycle. We assumed that buying a pre-owned item from eBay avoids the need for an equivalent new item to be produced. This new item and all of the environmental impacts associated with making it are “avoided.” However, a used item isn’t an exact substitute for a new item, so some adjustments were made.

To account for differences in quality and lifetime between new and pre-owned items, a lifetime adjustment factor was used. This was estimated to be approximately 50%, meaning two pre-owned products are needed to displace one new product. For example, a used coat may last half as long as a new one would, so two used coats would provide as much wear as a new coat.

Another adjustment was applied to take into account whether the used item really displaced a new item, or if it was just an extra purchase alongside a new item. This rate is found to be around 50% for many product categories.

These two adjustment factors are combined to give a final displacement rate around 25% (50% times 50%), which means that for every four used products sold, one new product does not need to be manufactured and will not end up in landfill or incineration.

Typical recycling, landfill, and incineration rates for the product categories or material types were used to estimate how many tons of each type of waste were avoided. These vary by country: U.S. rates of landfill are high and incineration is low, whereas in Europe incineration is generally more common and landfill less common. Recycling rates for various materials also vary widely by country.

Published carbon emissions data was collected for the production of new items, matching eBay product categories as closely as possible.

These different factors were combined with sales figures to calculate the avoided carbon impact and waste in each listing category and overall for Electronics, Fashion, Media, Lifestyle, Home & Garden, Business & Industrial, and Vehicle Parts & Accessories for 2024. The financial savings to the buyer from purchasing pre-owned rather than new products were estimated using a similar approach.

See our Methodology for more detailed information.

Scope 3 Category 9 Emissions

eBay’s downstream transportation and distribution (T&D) emissions are the emissions associated with the shipment of products sold on eBay’s platform from eBay sellers to buyers. eBay’s downstream T&D activities are limited to post and parcel services, and the associated emissions account for a significant majority of eBay’s total emissions footprint. eBay is committed to providing transparency into its carbon footprint calculation methodology and therefore has published a detailed methodology tailored to eBay’s diverse and global shipping model which enables accurate and verifiable emissions measurement to help eBay manage downstream risks associated with climate change, increased operational costs, and supply chain disruptions.

eBay calculates the emissions associated with downstream T&D on an annual basis. Summarized results are verified by a third-party assurance provider and published in eBay’s annual Impact Report. When appropriate, year-over-year comparisons in data are reviewed to ensure reasonable and complete reporting, as well as to track progress of decarbonization efforts. All assumptions and calculation methods as described in eBay’s methodology are reviewed and re-validated on an annual basis. Large and unexplained changes in data values undergo additional quality assurance and quality control to ensure accurate reporting.

See our Methodology for more detailed information.

ESG Materiality

Our approach to the disclosures included in this report differs from our approach to the disclosures we include in our mandatory regulatory reports, including our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This report is intended to provide more detail than is required to be included in other regulatory reports, including our filings with the SEC. Our ESG reporting describes those topics which we consider to be the most important to stakeholders when evaluating environmental, social, and governance issues at eBay. Therefore, ESG materiality in this report does not directly correspond to the concept of materiality used in securities law.

Forward-Looking Statements

We have included in this report statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements are not historical facts or statements of current conditions, but instead represent only our beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside our control. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond our control. These statements relate to, among other things, our goals, targets, aspirations, and objectives, and actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements, or the statements of third parties based on these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our results to differ from the forward-looking statements include global socio-demographic and economic trends, energy prices, technological innovations, climate-related conditions and weather events, legislative and regulatory changes, and other unforeseen events or conditions. More information about factors that could affect eBay’s results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company’s Investor Relations or the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this Impact Report is as of May 21, 2025. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof. eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.

About Our Information

Data reflects eBay’s fiscal year 2024, which ended December 31, 2024, unless noted otherwise. All references to dollars are U.S. dollars. eBay reports financial data in its 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Disclosed programs within this report are offered globally or in most major markets, unless otherwise stated.