Amazon to decarbonise by 2040

Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to net zero carbon across its businesses by 2040.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive, said: “If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon—which delivers more than 10 billion items a year—can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can. I’ve been talking with other CEOs of global companies, and I’m finding a lot of interest in joining the pledge.

“Large companies signing The Climate Pledge will send an important signal to the market that it’s time to invest in the products and services the signatories will need to meet their commitments,” he added.

Amazon will implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through what it describes as “real business changes and innovations”, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.

To that end Amazon has ordered 100,000 customised electric delivery vans for its global fleet from American EV manufacturer Rivian. Amazon plans to have 10,000 of the new electric vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 vehicles on the road by 2030—saving 4 million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

It has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops on fulfillment centres and sort centres around the globe that generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 MWh of clean energy annually.