Impact Interview: Kim Buncle

Name: Kim Buncle

Role/Function: Senior ESG Manager, GitLab

What are you working on these days?

I work at GitLab, a DevSecOps company with a mission to enable everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that powers our world. I’m responsible for our sustainability reporting and strategy, specifically designing and implementing the company’s environmental programs.

One of the projects that I’m very excited about is establishing the company’s first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. As a fully remote software company, 100% of our emissions are Scope 3 with a large portion of those emissions coming from our supply chain. Consequently, a key part of our reduction plan will include influencing our suppliers to set their own reduction targets. In the spirit of iteration, last year we asked our top 20 suppliers by spend without emissions disclosures to start measuring and disclosing their emissions so we can start improving the accuracy of our supplier emissions calculations.

As we work towards setting our reduction target, I’m excited to explore more ways we can decarbonize the business and engage GitLab team members in climate action. Earlier this year, we launched the first iteration of the GitLab Team Member Sustainability Guide for Remote Work offering actionable steps team members can take to reduce their environmental impact at home. In true GitLab fashion, the guide is public and open to contributions from anyone. We welcome any ideas you may have!

What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social and environmental impact? 

My ‘aha’ moment was during my first role in corporate sustainability as an investment analyst at Stewart Investors where I learned that companies don’t operate in a vacuum - they have an impact on people and the environment and they have the resources to help solve the world’s greatest challenges, and will benefit from doing so.

Stewart Investors is a public equity investment firm that invests in companies contributing to a sustainable future. In this role I had the privilege of working with a team of investment managers who were ahead of the curve in their approach to sustainable investing. They believe that companies that deliver benefits to society and the environment face fewer risks over the long term than those that profit from harming people and the environment. Companies that operate responsibly and produce ‘socially useful’ products and services are better placed to deliver positive returns to shareholders. This first experience has stuck with me and continues to inform how I think about corporate sustainability.

How did you break into the impact space? What career advice would you give to professionals who are just starting out or looking to transition?

After completing my graduate degree in International Development at the University of Edinburgh, I joined Stewart Investors, as an Investment Analyst on their Sustainable Funds team focusing on emerging markets.To my surprise, I was qualified for the role despite not having a background in finance. Needless to say, it was a very steep learning curve for me, but I was fortunate to have a wonderful mentor who taught me investment analysis and I used my background in international development to assess companies from a sustainability perspective.

After several years of working in the investment industry, I decided I wanted to work inside a company on sustainability initiatives. In my investment roles I had the opportunity to speak with heads of sustainability at a variety of publicly listed companies across the world and was fascinated by the work they were doing to operationalize sustainability at their companies. My next role was at a sustainability consulting firm (ERM) in San Francisco where I worked mostly with tech companies on sustainability strategy and reporting. Following this role I landed my first in-house role at GoDaddy where I helped build their sustainability program.

My advice for someone trying to break into the sustainability space is to tell your story. What is your motivation for working in sustainability and what experiences/ideas do you have that you will bring to the role? Be specific about why you are interested in a particular industry, what challenges that industry faces from a sustainability perspective and ideas you have for how the business can tackle those challenges and how it would benefit from doing so. If you’re looking to make a career change and transition into the sustainability space, start exploring how you might be able to contribute to sustainability initiatives in your current role. There is so much work to be done and often sustainability teams are very lean and are looking for employees eager to contribute their ideas and time. If there isn’t an existing sustainability team, make the case internally and lead the charge!

Working in impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?

Operationalizing sustainability across a company requires collaboration, learning, and persistence. That means a lot of outreach, exploratory conversations and relationship building. I often feel like part of my job is a scavenger hunt — finding the right team to partner with or the person who has the data I’m looking for. But I enjoy the challenge! I’ve found I’m most effective at my job when I break out of my silo to search for answers to my questions and build relationships with people across the organization to drive change.

What most excites you about the impact space right now?

There’s a lot happening in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) right now and we’re at an exciting turning point in its evolution. In recent years there’s been a lot of controversy over carbon credits that don’t actually deliver their promised impact, which has undermined trust in the VCM and led to significant reputational risk for the corporate buyers. At the same time, there’s growing recognition that the VCM will play a crucial role in helping the world achieve the temperature goals set by the Paris Agreement by providing critical funding, particularly in developing countries, to high quality emissions reduction and removal projects that wouldn’t happen without it.

In an effort to build back trust in the VCM, there’s a lot of work happening to ensure that carbon credits are in fact delivering on their promise. For example, the Core Carbon Principles developed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market are ten science-based principles for identifying high-quality carbon credits that create real, verifiable climate impact. There’s also an increasing focus on the credibility of net zero commitments and the role that carbon credits play in achieving those goals. The Claims Code developed by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative provides guidance to companies (and other purchasers) on how they can credibly make use of carbon credits as part of their climate commitments.

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