The technology company built a $750,000 carbon removal portfolio with Watershed
Figma’s sustainability program began as a grassroots employee initiative to explore carbon accounting and carbon credits. With leadership support, the group formalised Figma’s commitment to sustainability, partnering with Watershed to measure emissions and build a strategic carbon removal portfolio. Through this approach, Figma has scaled its climate investment and integrated sustainability into its business practices.
Challenge
Figma’s Net Zero social impact group (SIG) wanted to drive meaningful climate action but lacked a way to measure the company’s carbon footprint or make informed investment decisions. To scale their impact, they needed a solution that provided accurate emissions data, guided decarbonization efforts, and aligned with Figma’s long-term net zero goal.
Solution
Figma partnered with Watershed to measure its emissions, purchase high-quality carbon removals, and build a diversified carbon removal portfolio. Using an investment-style approach, the Net Zero SIG leveraged Watershed’s expert guidance to strategically allocate funds toward emerging climate technologies. This partnership allowed them to scale their impact while integrating sustainability into company culture.
Results
Challenge
In 2021, a group of employees at Figma began organizing a ground-up sustainability program for the company. A year later, they formalized as the Net Zero social impact group (SIG), which led Figma to sign the Climate Pledge, a collection of the world’s top companies committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The Net Zero SIG has continued to grow, and Figma’s sustainability program is managed by members of the group—employees from across the organization who contribute on top of their primary roles.
The Net Zero SIG has grown into a key driver of Figma’s sustainability program. The initiative has strong executive support—Figma’s Chief Financial Officer, Praveer Melwani, serves as the group’s executive sponsor. “There has always been buy-in for Figma to be a sustainable company from the top,” explains Matthew Robinson, Strategic Finance and Net Zero SIG Lead. “It’s incredibly helpful to have executive decision-makers on board for this work.”
Early on, the group recognized that to take meaningful action, they needed to measure Figma’s carbon footprint with accuracy and efficiency. They wanted a scalable approach that would evolve alongside Figma’s growth.
While they looked for publicly available resources, there was little guidance from other tech companies on how to measure a footprint effectively. The Net Zero SIG needed a solution that would not only help them measure emissions but also support their long-term net zero goal.
“We knew that carbon accounting would be the most important piece to make an impact, but we didn’t have a way to calculate our footprint.”
Noah Rowlett,
Android Mobile Engineer and Net Zero SIG Lead
Solution
Figma set out to make a real climate impact, starting with purchasing high-quality carbon removals before expanding into measuring their full footprint. To ensure their investments were both credible and effective, they turned to Watershed, recognizing the depth of expertise behind its approach to carbon removals.
They began purchasing removals through Watershed Marketplace, which is built on a rigorous, science-driven methodology that prioritizes real sustainability impact. Every Marketplace project is vetted against six key considerations—including additionality, durability, and co-benefits—and assessed by independent climate scientists. This transparency and rigor gave Figma confidence that their investments were truly driving emissions impact.
With this trust established, Figma deepened the partnership, expanding beyond removals to leverage Watershed’s full measurement capabilities. Today, the team uses Watershed’s tools to track their carbon footprint with precision while ensuring their investments in removals continue to meet the highest standards.
With Watershed, Figma moved beyond traditional offsetting to build a thoughtful carbon removal portfolio. Inspired by its leadership team, Figma adopted an investment mindset, treating carbon removal purchases as a strategic portfolio rather than one-off purchases.
“When it comes to nascent climate technology companies, the idea is that upfront capital can help them scale faster and create a much bigger impact down the road because they will help many reach carbon neutrality,” explains Robinson.
Using Watershed's platform and expert guidance, Figma has curated a diversified carbon removal portfolio focused on high-impact, early-stage climate technologies. Every project is vetted for quality, environmental impact, and climate risk, ensuring that investments drive real reductions.
Since sustainability is not the primary responsibility of the Net Zero SIG members, they rely on Watershed’s direction to evaluate investment opportunities. “The team’s advice is invaluable—we wouldn’t know where to start otherwise,” explains Robinson.
“While we educate ourselves and do lots of research, much of the value of Watershed comes from the access it provides to expertise and research—it puts informed decision-making within reach for our team.”
Noah Rowlett,
Android Mobile Engineer and Net Zero SIG Lead
To ensure transparency and education, the SIG compiles an internal FigJam document outlining potential investments. Employees across the company can review and provide input, allowing for a democratized decision-making process. This approach ensures that Figma’s carbon removal strategy reflects both employee values and scientific rigor.
Each year, Watershed presents new projects for consideration, helping Figma refine its approach based on evolving technologies, regulatory shifts, and sustainability impact assessments.
“Treating our sustainability action like an investment portfolio is so salient for us as a relatively small tech company,” explains Rowlett. “Being able to participate in a marketplace and invest in these companies—many of which are early-stage startups—is a nod to our roots and a great way for us to invest in the future of sustainability solutions.”
Results
Figma has expanded from initial small-scale purchases to investing $750,000 in carbon removal and avoidance credits through Watershed—a 50% increase from its $500,000 investment in 2023.
This diverse portfolio supports seven cutting-edge carbon removal technologies, including:
Beyond financial investments, Figma has built relationships with the climate companies it invests in, reinforcing its long-term commitment to decarbonization.
“We're not just offsetting emissions today—we're investing in climate technologies that can scale exponentially tomorrow.”
Matthew Robinson,
Strategic Finance and Net Zero SIG Lead
With an accurate emissions footprint in place, Figma has established baselines to track progress over time. Access to Watershed has enabled the team to analyze emissions in greater detail. “Watershed makes it easy to see the impact of things like employees’ flight and lodging choices—showing, for example, how two nights at one hotel compare to a single night at another,” explains Reina Davé, Senior Corporate Accountant and Net Zero SIG Lead. “It’s incredibly helpful to have that level of insight at our fingertips.”
This data-driven approach has helped integrate sustainability into business decisions, including employee travel policies. Maintaining a granular, up-to-date footprint has also positioned Figma for compliance with evolving disclosure regulations.
Figma’s journey highlights how early climate action can become embedded in company culture, making sustainability a natural part of decision-making.
Figma’s experience demonstrates that meaningful climate action doesn’t require a dedicated sustainability team. By harnessing employee passion, securing executive support, and partnering with Watershed, Figma has built a scalable and impactful climate program.
As a testament to its growing commitment, Figma hosted its first-ever Sustainability Week in January 2025. The event featured five days of programming designed to educate employees on climate action and the tools available to them.
By treating carbon removal as an investment portfolio, democratizing sustainability decisions, and leveraging expert partnerships, Figma has built a model for high-impact, scalable climate action—one that other companies can learn from and follow.
Customer Story
Customer Story
Customer Story