How the global travel platform is building a robust decarbonization strategy and driving industry-wide impact with Watershed.
Skyscanner is scaling its climate ambition by building a credible, high-impact decarbonization strategy. After committing to deeper accountability and industry-wide action, the travel platform partnered with Watershed to measure its emissions, streamline climate investments, and align on a long-term path to net zero. With Watershed’s platform and advisory support, Skyscanner is driving results today—and setting the foundation for future impact.
Challenge
As a leader in global travel, Skyscanner recognized its responsibility to address the emissions it facilitates, even if it doesn’t directly produce them. After pioneering flight emissions transparency, the team sought to deepen its accountability by measuring its full footprint and investing in decarbonization. But scaling action in an evolving carbon market required the right expertise and support.
Solution
Skyscanner chose Watershed to build and execute its climate strategy, combining robust carbon measurement with tailored decarbonization guidance. Watershed’s platform helped map the company’s emissions footprint, while its expert team guided the development of a focused, high-quality decarbonization portfolio. Together, they developed a credible, budget-aligned approach to climate action rooted in Skyscanner’s operational goals and industry role.
Results
Reduced costs through cohort buying: $34K in carbon credit savings unlocked via Watershed’s decarbonization cohort, enabling deeper investment in climate and community projects.
Accelerated footprint coverage: 12% of Skyscanner’s 2024 emissions addressed through Watershed removals and avoidance credits. 20% of corporate travel flight emissions were addressed through SAF purchases, while 909 MWh of EACs covered 100% of scope 2 and associated scope 3 electricity emissions.
Streamlined internal alignment: Skyscanner hopes that centralized emissions data and planning tools will enable teams across the business to collaborate toward the company’s 2045 net zero goal.
Challenge
Skyscanner, the global travel search site and app, sits at the heart of the travel industry, connecting travelers with destinations and shaping how people move through the world. This central role in worldwide travel comes with a significant responsibility: to understand and support efforts to reduce the emissions it facilitates and creates. “Even though Skyscanner doesn’t directly create significant emissions, we facilitate flight bookings and therefore have a moral responsibility to drive meaningful progress on the resulting carbon footprint,” explains Kirsty Webster, Skyscanner’s Sustainability Lead.
Skyscanner’s sustainability work began with product innovation when it began showing emissions information on flights. Since 2019, 361 million Skyscanner travelers have selected flights with lower-than-typical emissions on their chosen route .
While it was a pioneer of such features, Skyscanner knew it needed to go deeper. After signing the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action, it committed to a broader, more strategic sustainability plan aligned to the declaration’s five pathways: Measure, decarbonize, regenerate, collaborate, and finance. It knew that if it wanted to hold itself accountable and help catalyze climate action across the travel industry, it had to start by understanding its own footprint.
But its early—and ongoing—efforts didn’t stop there. In addition to launching sustainability-focused features, Skyscanner partnered with SkyNRG on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), joined the Travalyst coalition, and signed the Glasgow Declaration.
As its climate program evolved, Skyscanner needed a partner to help it build credibility, scale action, and navigate the complexity of carbon markets.
“It’s not just about addressing our own emissions, but also catalyzing our industry with the production of alternative fuels and scaling carbon removal technology. We want to push for supply by showing demand.”
Kirsty Webster,
Skyscanner’s Sustainability Lead
Solution
In 2023, Skyscanner partnered with Watershed to support its full decarbonization journey. Today, Watershed provides Skyscanner with carbon measurement, reporting, and decarbonization, all in one integrated platform. With Watershed, Skyscanner gained visibility into its full emissions footprint dating back to 2019, created its first annual climate action plan, and committed to reaching net zero by 2045 at the latest. It has also fully reduced its scope 2 emissions through the procurement of clean energy and the purchase of EACs since 2023.
When choosing a partner, Skyscanner prioritized accurate data, high confidence in the quality of reporting, and due diligence. It also looked for a platform supported by expertise, both in measurement and in carbon removals and offsets. Finally, the team wanted to be able to match strategic objectives to specific climate projects and tie impact to investment.
Watershed’s climate advisors have played a key role in simplifying complicated decisions for Webster and the team, especially as they pertain to decarbonization and strategic impact. “We don’t have the dedicated resources or specialized expertise to go deep on the projects we’re considering,” Webster explains. “The support and clarity we get from Watershed has been invaluable.”
“Decarbonization is complex. Watershed helps us stay focused, aligning every investment with our strategic goals so that we can act with clarity and confidence.”
Kirsty Webster,
Skyscanner’s Sustainability Lead
Skyscanner’s decarbonization portfolio is designed to strike a balance between breadth, impact, and credibility. Its key goals are to:
“Particularly working in travel and tourism, having community impact be part of our strategy was key,” Webster says. “This work isn’t just about addressing our impact, but also about giving back in some way.”
Skyscanner has invested in several decarbonization projects, including Mati Carbon, a pioneer of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) at scale in India—where Skyscanner most recently opened an office—benefiting local communities and regenerative agriculture. “Having a community benefit within a country where Skyscanner operates is great,” Webster says. It has also invested in preventing methane emissions by plugging orphaned oil and gas wells through Tradewater, addressing a historical legacy of travel emissions. Skyscanner’s SAF purchases (via SkyNRG) round out a portfolio that supports long-term aviation transformation.
With Watershed’s support, Skyscanner has built a credible, footprint-aligned portfolio by matching investments to emissions categories, ensuring budget alignment, and providing deep due diligence and project-level insight.
“Watershed helps cut through all the noise and find projects that align with our broader goals.”
Kirsty Webster,
Skyscanner’s Sustainability Lead
Results
By joining Watershed’s decarbonization cohort, Skyscanner saved $34K on carbon credits in a single year. “Maximizing our budget allows us to have more of an impact, whether within our decarbonization efforts or across our wider sustainability projects, such as supporting regenerative tourism,” Webster says. The cost efficiencies have also helped drive internal buy-in and opened up new investment opportunities for the sustainability team.
More importantly, the cohort helped Skyscanner access credible, impactful credits in a tightening market: “Being part of the initial Watershed decarbonization cohort has helped us access buying power to support trusted projects at a competitive price point,” Webster explains. “We’re looking for quality credits with permanence and co-benefits—not just to check a box. Having a cohort to buy with helps us unlock those opportunities and make sure they’re available to us.”
In line with Skyscanner’s commitment to transparency on climate impact for its customers, Watershed’s platform has helped make climate action tangible across the company. With the platform, functions across the business can input data, which helps the sustainability team track progress and align on goals—all in one place.
The centralization of measurement and planning also helps Watershed tailor its support: “Watershed has a deep level of understanding of our business and what our sustainability impact is, which helps us identify where we can achieve even more,” says Webster.
As of 2024, Skyscanner’s portfolio—including removals, avoidance credits—covers 12% of its total emissions footprint. In addition to this, it has purchased SAF accounting for 20% of its corporate travel flight emissions and reduced 100% of its scope 2 and associated scope 3 electricity emissions through clean energy and Energy Attribution Certificates (EACs). But with its net zero target for 2045 in mind, the team is keeping its eyes on the horizon and planning long-term by investing in nascent removal technologies and aligning with growth regions and travel partner expectations.
And, with increased climate credibility in procurement conversations, Webster’s work has become more embedded across the organization. “Sustainability is not a token gesture for us, and increasingly, we’re able to show our partners that our sustainability efforts have a clear strategy and direction,” she says. “Using Watershed helps us do that."
“With Watershed, we feel confident that we’re supporting the best projects possible and putting our money where it’ll have the most impact.”
Kirsty Webster,
Skyscanner’s Sustainability Lead