Key takeaways
- Shift offset 615 tonnes of CO₂ in Q1 2026, making us one of the few tech companies that offset carbon emissions at the community level
- Shifties walked in the Coldest Night of the Year 2026 for the second year running, this time as lead sponsor of the walk in Victoria, BC.
- Shift donated to support the Big Little Science Centre to support hands-on tech and science education for youth
- Shift became a Gold Sponsor of the UVic Engineering and Computer Science team at the 2026 Canadian Engineering Competition
- Shift and Redbrick each fund a $5,000 scholarship through iWIST, supporting women in STEM graduate scholarships on Vancouver Island
- The annual Shift Impact Grant is returning soon, with $25,000 USD available for tech-based sustainability initiatives
It's almost halfway through 2026, and a lot has happened through Shift Gives already.
If you’re new to Shift Gives, allow me to introduce you! Shift Gives is our social impact program and one of the clearest expressions of our corporate responsibility commitments. It's how we put real resources behind the things we care about: environmental accountability, education in tech, and showing up for our community. This post is a look at what that's meant in practice so far this year.
Q1 carbon offsets: 615 tonnes
From January to March 2026, the Shift community generated 615 tonnes of CO₂ from browsing. Then we offset all of it.
There aren't many carbon neutral tech companies doing this at the community level, and we think that needs to change. We purchase verified carbon credits through Carbonzero to support two certified North American climate projects. The first is the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project in British Columbia, which protects millions of hectares of old-growth temperate rainforest through Indigenous-led stewardship of local First Nations territories. The second targets the industrial side, replacing traditional cement with natural alternatives like pozzolan, fly ash, and bottom ash to support a lower-carbon construction industry.
Every person browsing in Shift is included in this offset through the Carbon Meter, which measures the community's collective browsing footprint in real time.
For the full breakdown of where the credits go and why we do this, read our Q1 offsets article below:
We offset 615 tonnes in Q1 2026. Here's what that means.
Every quarter, we measure the CO₂ generated by browsing in Shift and offset it. In Q1 2026, that number was 615 tonnes. Here's what we did with it and why the work is just getting started.
Read MoreColdest Night of the Year 2026
For the second year in a row, Shifties joined thousands of Canadians for the Coldest Night of the Year walk. This year was especially meaningful: Shift was the lead sponsor of the walk in Victoria, BC organized by Our Place Society, whose team provides meals, shelter, housing support, and community services for people who need them most.
Corporate responsibility means different things to different companies. For us, part of it looks like this: showing up in person, in our own city, for the people who need support most. Victoria is home. As Nicole, our Senior Software Developer, put it during the event:
being part of a community means showing up for each other all year round.
Big Little Science Centre
Shift made a donation to the Big Little Science Centre (BLSC) in Kelowna, BC to support their Gordon R Gore Legacy Fund, which sustains the centre's core operations and its ability to deliver science and technology education to youth of all ages.
The BLSC is focused on hands-on, interactive learning, and that approach matters most when it comes to technology. Shift's donation creates space to develop exhibits that help children understand how technology and the internet actually work. There's also an exciting longer-term possibility being explored: connecting that work to digital carbon emissions education, which would make for a natural extension of exhibits the BLSC already has on power use and carbon output. That kind of grounded, accessible learning is exactly what the education in tech pillar of Shift Gives is built for.
UVic Engineering and Computer Science
Through Shift Gives, we became a Gold Sponsor of the University of Victoria Engineering and Computer Science team at the 2026 Canadian Engineering Competition.
Their project was an augmented reality system designed to help building inspectors assess structural damage more efficiently. It's the kind of applied, real-world work that doesn't always get the attention it deserves, but plays a direct role in keeping communities safe. Supporting students doing that work is part of what corporate social impact looks like in practice, backing people who are solving real problems before they ever enter the workforce.
iWIST scholarship
Shift and Redbrick each fund a $5,000 scholarship through iWIST, Island Women in Science and Technology, to support women in STEM furthering their education on Vancouver Island. This partnership reflects something straightforward: investing in people building technical careers is one of the most direct ways to strengthen the community we all work in. We funded this scholarship last year and are committed to continuing that support in 2026, because closing the gender gap in STEM starts with investing in the people who are already leading us forward.
Tech with heart: How Shift Gives is making a difference
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Read MoreThe Shift Impact Grant is coming back
We're excited to share that the annual Shift Impact Grant is returning very soon.
The grant provides $25,000 USD of unrestricted funding to support tech-based sustainability initiatives with meaningful, measurable environmental or social impact. It's open to registered organizations and fiscally sponsored initiatives in Canada and the United States. More details are coming shortly, so stay tuned to our blog and social accounts!
More ahead
Shift Gives is built on the belief that tech can be a genuine force for good, channeling resources into environmental accountability, tech education, and community support. Corporate social impact isn't a checkbox. For us, it's an ongoing commitment that shows up in how we operate, who we fund, and where we show up.
What you've read here is what the first half of 2026 has looked like, but there's much more to come.
If you're interested in learning more about Shift Gives or want to explore a partnership, visit shift.com/shift-gives/.
