Lime leads micromobility toward net-zero

illuminem summarises the essential news of the day. Lime, the world's largest shared micromobility operator, has reported an 81.4% reduction in company-wide carbon emissions intensity since 2019, evidence that a fast-growing mobility company can cut emissions while scaling ridership, and a leading reference point for the wider urban transport sector. Read the full groundbreaking report here, or explore illuminem’s exclusive coverage below.

Lime released its latest carbon inventory this week, covering the 2025 reporting year, and the results mark one of the company's most significant sustainability milestones to date: company-wide emissions intensity down 81.4% since 2019, over a period in which ridership on its vehicles has nearly quadrupled.

The inventory shows company-wide emissions intensity down 81.4% from Lime's 2019 baseline, a 14.6 percentage point improvement on 2024 and a 44% year-on-year gain. Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions are down 77.2%, putting the company four years ahead of its SBTi-validated schedule, while Scope 3 intensity is down 79.5% against a 2030 target of 97%. The reduction has occurred alongside a roughly 250% increase in total kilometres travelled on Lime vehicles since 2019, confirming that the company has decoupled emissions growth from ridership growth.

Lime launched in 2017 as a dockless bike-share operator in the United States, expanding into e-scooters the following year and establishing itself across European cities including Paris, Berlin and Milan. It has since grown into the largest shared micromobility business globally, with more than a billion rides completed across five continents. Lime was also the first company in the sector to set a validated science-based net-zero target across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, with a 2030 target that arrives twenty years ahead of the Paris Agreement's 2050 deadline.

"Transportation is one of the largest sources of climate pollution in cities around the world, which means scaling low-carbon alternatives is essential to addressing the global climate challenge," said Andrew Savage, VP of Sustainability and founding team member at Lime. "Our work is showing that shared electric mobility can serve more riders and become even more carbon-efficient at the same time at scale. This progress reflects years of work to improve vehicle durability, transition to renewable electricity, optimise our operations, and reduce emissions throughout our supply chain. While we're proud of this milestone, we know there's still a lot of work ahead. Our focus remains on making shared electric transportation an ever-more impactful climate solution for the cities and communities we serve."

Where the reductions came from

The direct emissions gains stem from a sustained operational shift: renewable energy across facilities and battery operations, continued electrification of operations vehicles, and the rollout of Lime's swappable battery model, which has reduced van-based collection trips. All purchased electricity for fleet charging and Lime-operated facilities is now sourced through green power programmes or matched with renewable energy certificates, bringing market-based Scope 2 emissions to zero.

On the supply chain side, Lime has sourced low-carbon aluminium and renewably produced battery cells for several years, and 2025 marked the largest expansion of that programme to date. The company estimates this cut production emissions intensity by 25.3% across its batteries, e-scooters, LimeBike and Glider fleet. In logistics, Lime extended its use of HVO100 renewable fuel for port-to-hub trucking to more than 20 European cities and 350 hauls over the year, building on the electric port-to-hub trucking it introduced in North America in 2024.

Circularity is the third pillar. In-house hardware design and modularity have extended vehicle lifespans and improved parts repair and reuse, supported by an expanded in-field repair programme. Lime has also broadened its partnerships with Redwood Materials, which recycles end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, and Cyclic Materials, which recovers electric motors, returning critical materials to the supply chain and reducing dependence on virgin extraction.

Collectively, these measures reflect a strategy focused on the parts of Lime's footprint that carry the most weight: materials, logistics and vehicle lifecycle, rather than the vehicle's operation itself.

Supporting cities' climate goals

Lime's influence extends beyond its own operations. Research conducted with Covo Intelligence across Chicago, New York, Seattle, Vancouver and San Francisco, surveying more than 3,000 adults, found that over 70% agree Lime supports more sustainable ways of getting around, while more than half said shared e-bikes and e-scooters would make their commute easier. As cities look for scalable, low-carbon alternatives to higher-emitting travel modes, operators such as Lime are positioning shared micromobility as part of the solution for advancing climate, mobility and affordability goals together.

What comes next

Lime's remaining targets are its most demanding: 90% on Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions and 97% on Scope 3 intensity by 2030. Having already outpaced its own roadmap by several years, the company's five-year trend and newly independent assurance on direct emissions provide a solid foundation for the final stretch toward net-zero.

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