By Devin Wenig, President and CEO, eBay
People are basically good. This is the founding principle of what is now one of the world’s leading marketplaces, enabling over $84 billion of commerce every year.
Based on this simple belief in people, we have used commerce as a force for good, empowering people and creating opportunity for all.
Over the last two decades we have used technology to create a better, more sustainable form of commerce. We’ve worked hard to ensure that our marketplace is inclusive, fair, fosters global trade, and enables small business entrepreneurship.
When people connect on eBay, good things happen, and that is what drives our Global Impact. It is an integral part of how we do business, and I am incredibly proud of this.
Today, we are beginning the next chapter of our Global Impact journey. We are reaching higher, and have set new three-year goals. We have also outlined our long term commitments in our 2016 summary.
We recognize that what we say, and what we do matters. And, we focus our impact in the world on three broad areas -- Opportunity for All, Circular Economy and eBay for Charity.
By connecting buyers and sellers online, wherever they are in the world, we enable everyone to find their version of perfect — and in the process, help them participate in the global economy. Our open platform and tools, technology, and our growing base of over 169 million active buyers mean sellers of any size anywhere in the world have the opportunity to succeed. This leads to more jobs, stronger communities and greater economic stability.
We also consider every transaction to be an opportunity to support causes the eBay community cares most about. With eBay for Charity, when you buy or sell you can make a meaningful difference for nonprofits. Our buyers and sellers have raised over $725 million in the last 13 years on our platform. That is commerce for good.
We also care deeply about giving products the opportunity to find renewed life and value. In fact, this started with our very first transaction — a broken laser pointer that found a new home — and it continues today as new and pre-owned items are bought and sold on eBay. By keeping products in circulation longer, we create a robust circular economy that is essential for the sustainability of our planet.
How we operate our business has an impact as well. We are increasing our use of renewable energy resources to power our eBay-controlled data centers and offices — setting a goal to use 100 percent renewable energy resources by 2025.
We are a company that lives its values, and Global Impact is how we bring our purpose to life. We’re always striving to serve our customers better, and increase our impact. Now, more than ever, we are focused on our founding concept. People are basically good, and technology can be used to empower and create opportunities for everyone.