Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - Scaling global carbon footprint management (STP213)

Summary

Michael Floyd, head of sustainability solutions at AWS, and Blake Blackwell, lead architect at Persephone, discuss scaling global carbon footprint management.
Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement.
The Climate Pledge principles include regular reporting, carbon elimination, and credible offsets.
Startups like Persephone, which recently became a signatory to the Climate Pledge, are essential for developing technologies for decarbonization.
Persephone offers a climate disclosure and carbon management solution that simplifies reporting and helps companies manage their carbon footprints.
The presentation covers the challenges of carbon accounting, the importance of startups in sustainability, and how AWS supports startups.
Blake Blackwell shares Persephone's journey from a monolithic architecture to microservices, emphasizing the importance of AWS in scaling their platform globally.
Persephone manages 7.2 billion metric tons of carbon, aiming to help customers reduce their carbon footprint and meet sustainability targets.

The urgency of climate action is driving innovation in climate tech, with startups playing a pivotal role in creating solutions for carbon management.
AWS's infrastructure and services are instrumental for startups like Persephone to build, scale, and innovate quickly, especially in the sustainability sector.
Carbon accounting is complex, with Scope 3 emissions being particularly challenging to measure due to their indirect nature and the involvement of the entire value chain.
The transition from monolithic to microservices architecture is a strategic move for scalability and efficiency, allowing for independent scaling and deployment of services.
AWS Data Labs played a crucial role in helping Persephone design and implement their new architecture, demonstrating the value of close collaboration with AWS.
Persephone's growth and the scale of carbon management highlight the significant impact that technology can have on sustainability efforts.
The presentation underscores the importance of cross-sector collaboration and the network effect in driving systemic change for sustainability.