Energy and Climate

Energy and climate

Okta’s sustainability strategy is focused on increasing transparency and action on climate change to protect people and the planet while driving long-term value for Okta’s business and stakeholders.

Climate Commitments

Read about our climate commitment in our environmental policy.

Here's a summary of our public climate commitments:

Okta has committed to validated science-based targets (SBTs) for absolute emissions reductions, which are aligned with the UN Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C global. Our targets are:

• Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 67% by FY2030 against a FY2020 base year
• Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel and employee commuting transportation 42% by FY2030 against a FY2020 base year
• Ensure that 65% of Okta’s suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services, and capital goods have science-based targets by FY2027

Okta is committed to supporting our global offices, remote workforce and third-party cloud service providers with 100% renewable electricity.

Okta commits to publicly reporting our annual GHG inventory inclusive of all relevant categories of scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3.

Climate Strategy

Okta’s science-based targets will inform the further evolution of our climate action plans, and will help us support our customers in achieving their own climate goals. Our climate strategy consists of four pillars, which aim to take direct action towards emissions reductions:

• Reduce consumption
• Electrify
• Purchase renewable electricity and sustainable aviation fuel certificates
• Engage our vendors

As we pursue each pillar of our climate strategy, we strive to operate through a lens of equity, collaboration, and business integration.

1. Reduce energy consumption

• Right-size our global workplace footprint
• Select office sites that are easily accessible by public transit to reduce the environmental impact of employee commuting
• Build out all new direct lease offices to both the LEED Silver and WELL Silver standards as a minimum
• Share resources with employees to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions, such as the Dynamic Work Sustainability Guide
• Develop resources for employees to travel more sustainably, including by facilitating virtual meetings instead of in-person meetings, bundling trips to reduce the frequency of travel, and traveling bycar or train instead of by plane when possible

2. Electrify

• Ask existing property managers of our leased offices to electrify equipment at end of life, report on refrigerant usage, and opt their building into 100% renewable electricity with their utility
• Add sustainability criteria, including all-electric buildings where available, to Okta’s new site selection criteria
• Provide employees with information about opting their residences into 100% renewable utility program

3. Purchase renewable electricity and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificates

• Purchase renewable electricity certificates (RECs) annually to match 100% of our electricity consumption from our offices, our remote workforce, and cloud services with renewable electricity. Okta purchases RECs that have a social benefit, such as supporting public schools and community-based solar for low and moderate income communities. 
• Okta is a member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), whose mission is to accelerate the path to carbon-neutral air transport by driving investment in SAF, catalyzing new and additional SAF production and technological innovation, and supporting member engagement in policy making.
• Okta purchases SAF certificates. Okta made a multi-year investment in SAFc through United’s Eco-Skies Alliance program, supporting the aviation industry’s shift toward lower-carbon fuel alternatives.  

4. Engage our vendors

• Collaborate with other members of the Business Council on Climate Change (BC3), with whom we’ve developed two guides encouraging vendor action on climate to (1) conduct a GHG emissions inventory and to set targets, and (2) achieve emissions reductions targets
• Engage directly with our vendors to offer resources/support in partnership with Rye Strategy and Watershed. Provide webinar programming and 1:1 meetings with vendors to ensure clear communication of Okta’s vendor engagement priorities.

Customer communication

Okta also engages with customers: for example, by participating in multi-company groups like Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) and Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), engaging in 1:1 customer conversations, sharing climate disclosures via CDP and thought leadership on climate, and customer sustainability award at Okta events like our annual customer conference, Oktane. We provide customers our GHG emissions data. We also partner with customers on resources for vendors via BC3, exploring how we can support one another to achieve climate goals.

GHG emissions inventory results

Okta’s GHG inventory is foundational to our environmental strategy. Having this data helps us increase our understanding of Okta’s current emissions, track our progress year-over-year, and identify opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint. Here are the results to our latest GHG emissions inventory.

Governance, Risk Management, and Scenario Analysis ​​

Okta’s sustainability and climate efforts, led by the company’s Sustainability & Responsible Tech team in partnership with the Sustainability Governance Committee, are overseen by our executive leadership and reviewed by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors, as per the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews Okta’s Sustainability and Responsible Tech programs and public disclosures, annually or more frequently as needed.

Okta’s Sustainability & Responsible Tech team has worked with the Okta risk management team to incorporate climate into the annual risk assessment process which is a part of our overall Enterprise Risk Management process. Okta conducted a climate scenario analysis to update and validate our climate risks and opportunities, which included a quantitative analysis of potential climate impacts. Okta also considers potential “physical risks” and impacts as part of our continuity planning. Okta forecasts long-term emissions growth and models the potential impact of “transition risks” like a carbon fee or decarbonization requirements. 

Primary climate disclosure through the CDP

CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) is a global nonprofit that provides a disclosure system for companies, cities, states, and regions to measure and manage their environmental impact. It collects data on an organization's risks and opportunities, business strategy, emissions data, and more. Over 20,000+ companies, including Okta, participate in CDP’s climate questionnaire every year. We believe CDP will help improve our climate change disclosures by enabling us to track progress, and continually improve on our strategies and results. 

Okta’s goal is to adopt both LEED Silver and WELL Silver certifications at all new direct-lease offices to focus on optimizing energy performance, as well as promoting the health and wellness of all occupants. Okta’s San Francisco headquarters and Dublin office are in LEED Gold buildings. Our 13th floor in San Francisco is LEED Gold and WELL Platinum rated. Okta Sydney and Paris are LEED Silver and WELL Silver certified. Our London office is WELL Silver, Chicago is WELL Gold, Tokyo and our NYC Experience Center are LEED Silver and WELL Gold certified.

• The WELL rating, from the WELL Building Institute (IWBI), is based on how a building impacts the health of its occupants, with features like abundant natural light, access to healthy food and water and distraction-free environments. 

• The LEED standard, from the U.S. Green Building Council, signifies that a building’s features reduce energy and water consumption as well as waste.

Timeline

• May 2020: Okta announced the Sustainability & Responsible Tech program.
• August 2020: Okta completed our first annual GHG emissions inventory, conducted by a third-party consultant and in accordance with industry best practices. Measuring and setting an emissions baseline was an instrumental first step in helping us define sustainability goals and strategies going forward, which include increasing our renewable electricity usage while reducing our overall carbon footprint.
• April 2021: Okta committed to 100% renewable electricity for our global offices.
• July 2021: Okta submitted our first CDP climate change questionnaire.
• September 2021: We achieved 100% renewable electricity for not only our global offices, but also our remote workforce. We also provided a resource, Dynamic Work Sustainability Guide, to our employees to support them to reduce their environmental impact, whether working remotely or in the office.
• June 2022: We expanded our renewable electricity program to include our third party cloud services electricity consumption.
• July 2022: Our science-based targets (SBT) for absolute emissions reductions were validated.
• 2022: Okta made first small purchase of SAF certificates, as we want to be part of the market signal of the importance of reducing aviation emissions 
• January 2023: Okta launched the Sustainable Travel Guidebook to help educate our employees about sustainable travel options. 
• February 2023: Okta joined the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA). SABA is an industry collaboration that is working to drive investment in, and adoption of, sustainable aviation fuel. 
• May 2023: Okta asked our top vendors to set climate targets, and provided these top vendors with resources and tools to support their efforts to reduce their carbon footprints. 
• October 2023: Okta submitted our first EcoVadis Sustainability Questionnaire.
• November 2023: Okta expanded our social benefit renewable electricity program to include international renewable electricity projects to support our growing international office and employee footprint.  
• January 2024: Okta made a multi-year purchase of SAF certificates.
• September 2025: Okta incorporated our first green lease language in a direct lease agreement, encouraging property owners to adopt sustainability practices.