Empowering Sustainability: Meet Abbey Foster Jacobson
Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey, here at GoDaddy.
My name is Abbey. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada and came to the U.S. to complete my undergraduate and master's degrees. I’ve always been passionate about the intersection of environmental, social, and governance (ESG)* issues and business, so I pursued my degrees in directly related fields. After grad school, I worked in ESG Consulting in New York City and then subsequently moved out to the Bay Area to work on ESG within a company. I have since worked for a few tech companies in ESG roles that focus on ESG strategy, reporting, and investor engagement, and greenhouse gas (GHG) and climate strategy.
At GoDaddy, I'm responsible for driving forward our voluntary and mandatory ESG reporting strategy, GHG emissions and climate-related work, and other strategic ESG projects. I love collaborating and working with teammates from across the globe to help grow and scale ESG within the company.
Can you share more about the work your team has done to reduce GHG emissions?
At GoDaddy, we believe everyone has a critical role to play in addressing the climate crisis.
In early 2022, the Corporate Sustainability** & ESG team worked cross-functionally to set our first GHG emissions reduction target. We focused our goal and efforts on our greatest areas of impact and influence, such as our data centers and corporate real estate. These teams are responsible for driving our emissions reductions and made amazing progress through footprint optimization, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
We are proud to have achieved our goal to reduce our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% from a 2019 baseline at of the end of 2023!
What are you most proud of, regarding GoDaddy's ESG progress from this past year?
We’ve made so much progress in the last year! I’m particularly proud of the work the Corporate Sustainability & ESG team, whose collaborative efforts with various teams throughout the organization have greatly improved our sustainability reporting processes and controls. With increasing expectations and emerging regulations, the efficiency, accuracy, and quality of our reporting is paramount.
What are GoDaddy's key focuses regarding ESG in 2024 and beyond?
In 2024, our objective is to enhance our ESG prioritization assessment in line with evolving regulations. We intend to undertake a robust analysis, utilizing a current state assessment and value chain mapping, while incorporating internal and external stakeholder perspectives. This comprehensive approach will provide us with an updated understanding of GoDaddy's ESG-related impacts and potential related risks and opportunities.
Additionally, while we’re proud of our success in achieving our GHG emissions goal, we know we still have more work to do. Moving forward, we hope to develop new and thoughtful plans that push us to reduce our environmental impact even further.
How do you feel that the organization supports you in your work?
ESG work is inherently collaborative and cross-functional. To address most priorities across the company and drive progress, we must partner with teams across the organization. Since joining GoDaddy, I’ve been so encouraged by leaders and team members with their support and excitement as we navigate our next steps in our company's ESG journey.
You can view GoDaddy's latest Sustainability Report here, which was published on April 25, 2024.
*Environmental , Social, Governance
How a company is managing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities to create shared value for our company and our stakeholders.
**Sustainability
All of a company’s efforts to reduce its impact on the world around it (people and planet).
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