Dallas-based Match Group — the parent company of popular online dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid — is swiping right for carbon neutrality. The company announced on Wednesday it will reach carbon neutrality by March 2022.
According to a prepared statement by the company, it will achieve this goal by purchasing offsets from Hyundai Green Power Corporation. The energy subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company focuses on creating green energy solutions and currently offers wind turbines and solar plants for customers. It also uses carbon capture technology to create electric power.
“Sustainability is a core foundational principle that all companies should care about. There’s no future if we do not have a livable planet to hand over to our children and grandchildren,” Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said. “This is the beginning of our actions to reduce our business impact on the environment.”
Carbon offsets work to reduce overall carbon emissions but not specifically a company’s carbon footprint. Because corporations use a lot of energy it would be almost impossible — at this moment — to switch entirely to renewable energy. Instead, with the purchase of carbon offsets, the purchasing company is investing to support other projects that are working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or working to develop advances in renewable energy tech.
With the purchase of offsets, Match Group with still be releasing CO2 into the atmosphere through its energy use but it will also be taking an active step in removing as much CO2 as it emits from the atmosphere — therefore reaching carbon neutral emissions.
Earlier in the year, Match Group released its 2021 Impact Report in which environmental sustainability was noted as a key issue.
The report mentioned how some of Match Group and its subsidiaries have been working to lessen their environmental impact. In its Los Angeles office, Match Group outfitted one of its exterior walls with some 40,000 plants that collect rainwater for irrigation and create shaded areas.
And at Meetic, a French online dating service owned by Match Group, CEO Matthieu Jacquier has taken several steps to reduce carbon emissions. Jacquier is in the process of re-hauling servers to have greater electric efficiency and has also been incentivizing staff to avoid air travel for business meetings.
“There’s an urgency around reducing our carbon footprint — our families, teams and users are demanding it. We’ve pledged to help create a more sustainable world,” Jacquier said.
