Though adoption of electric vehicles is increasing, experts are calling for rapid acceleration in sales to reach zero-tailpipe emissions by 2050. Making the switch attractive for consumers, however, means making the charging process as easy as pumping a tank of gas.
Enter EVPassport. Founded in late 2020, the electric vehicle charging hardware and software company is making the process seamless. For businesses, that means a turnkey and straightforward deployment process that leverages machine learning and an open API. For drivers, that means no more app sign-ups, fobs, or memberships. Instead, they simply scan a QR code to access and pay with their physical or digital wallets for charging.
“We have created a technology that is focused on creating a frictionless experience for EV drivers.” explains Mohammad Mehrabani, Chief Sustainability Officer at EVPassport. “But behind the scenes, we’re equally focused on sustainability.”
Though only 7% of start-ups have a net-zero plan in place, EVPassport chose to compensate for their carbon footprint from year one. To do so, they needed to measure the entirety of their scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions, as well as offset them with trustworthy carbon credits they could trust.
For that, they turned to Persefoni + Patch.
Measuring success
The road to net zero always begins with a measurement—and that’s where Persefoni comes in. The climate management and accounting platform helps companies seamlessly measure, report, and manage their carbon footprint and comply with disclosure requirements.
In EVPassport’s case, Persefoni measured the company’s impact in 2021 across twenty-five states and six countries. What they found was that the majority of their emissions fell under scope 3—think supplier activity, business travel, and the actual manufacturing of the charging hardware.
“If you’re thinking about implementing a sustainability agenda,” continues Mehrabani, “the fundamental first step is to set up a carbon accounting practice. This is why we partnered with Persefoni from day one.”
Once the proper measurements were established, EVPassport could turn their attention to Patch’s broad, diverse selection of trusted carbon credits in order to offset their climate impact.
Climate compensation
Patch connects companies of all sizes with trusted carbon credits, either through direct purchases, multi-year offtake agreements, or an API integration that automates the process. Through Patch’s partnership with Persefoni, EVPassport was able to access the entirety of these credits through the self-service marketplace on the Persefoni platform.
The selection chosen was a mix of long-standing carbon avoidance and removal projects, many of which are based around homegrown American communities, including the Big River & Salmon Creek Forest Protection project, the Hernando County Landfill Gas Capture project, and the Oregon Truck Stop Electrification project. All were certified to the criteria of Climate Action Reserve or the American Carbon Registry.
“Patch helped us navigate the wide range of carbon credit possibilities,” explains Mehrabani. “They encouraged us to vary our approach and include pioneer technology that can really make a difference. Best of all, we knew that every project available to us was one we could trust.”
As a result, EVPassport became the first distributed electric vehicle charging network to offset their entire carbon footprint—and did so after only their first full year as a company.
Growing sustainably
With year two quickly coming to an end, EVPassport will once again turn to Patch’s wide selection of projects to offset its climate impact, which has increased in line with the company’s incredible growth over the past year.
As time goes on, they hope to vary their credit portfolio even further, perhaps including more frontier carbon removal technology, while also measuring their own footprint with even greater precision.
“As our company grows, so does our ability to keep sustainability at the heart of everything we do,” concludes Mehrabani. “Thanks to Persefoni and Patch, we know we’re succeeding.”
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