Is Amazon Really Going Green?
You may have heard of Amazon’s ambitious new movement in 2019, announcing the founding of The Climate Pledge, claiming to be “net-zero carbon across our business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.”
Photo By Christian Wiediger
WHAT WILL THE COMMITMENTS INVOLVED ENTAIL?
To be net-zero carbon so soon, especially with a company as large as this one, the efforts must be vast and exponential. The official list is linked here, but this is a quick overview.
Powering operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
Making all Amazon shipments net-zero carbon through Shipment Zero, with 50% of all shipments net zero carbon by 2030.
Purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles.
Investing $2 billion to support the development of technologies and services that reduce carbon emissions and help preserve the natural world.
Investing $100 million in reforestation projects and climate mitigation solutions.
On another topic, they seem to be taking steps to deal with the multiple employee complaints. Their human rights commitments are as following
Launch a review of Amazon’s salient human rights risks by the end of 2020
Execute Amazon’s first human rights impact assessment by the end of 2020
Overall these efforts amount to over 2 billion dollars, yet this is only a fraction of what Bezos has earned during the last year.
HAVE THEY MADE THE STRIDES THEY’VE CLAIMED TO?
On renewable energy, Amazon is nearly halfway there and expects to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2025. That said, they still partner with many major oil and gas companies and expanding their operations. The Impakter Index, an organization that evaluates companies’ policies and actions toward sustainability, has given Amazon a C rating (mediocre) on the green scale: “Amazon holds various listings, awards and certificates in sustainability, however these listings, awards and certification are insufficient. Amazon lacks clear KPIs and while they try to align with the Sustainable Development Goals, there are no clear target specific strategies to achieve these goals. Despite Amazon’s commitment to building a sustainable business, they continue to engage in partnerships with multiple oil and gas companies. For these reasons, Amazon is rated a C on the Sustainability Index.” In addition, the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) has given Amazon multiple Fs for non-participation. This project is considered a top-tier environmental reporting organization.
IS AMAZON A SUSTAINABLE COMPANY?
The short answer is that at this point in time, no, they are not a sustainable company. As long as they continue to deal with so many oil and gas companies, there is no way they will achieve what they have claimed.
WHERE SHOULD ONE SHOP ONLINE INSTEAD?
If you have no small local business, or would rather buy online amidst this pandemic, below is a site in which lists many ethical websites for you to buy from.