Amazon sees decline in carbon emissions for the first time

Amazon lowered its c emissions for the archetypal clip since it began disclosing the fig 4 years ago.

In its annual sustainability report issued Tuesday, the e-retailer said its activities emitted the equivalent of 71.27 cardinal metric tons of c dioxide past year. That's down 0.4% from 2021, erstwhile it reported a c footprint of 71.54 cardinal metric tons. Emissions are inactive up by astir 40% from 2019, the twelvemonth Amazon archetypal began disclosing its c footprint.

The institution besides reported its c intensity, which measures emissions per dollar of sales, fell 7% betwixt 2021 and 2022, and has fallen by 24% since 2019.

"We achieved this successful ample portion by improving ratio crossed our concern and continuing our concern successful renewable energy," Amazon stated successful the report.

Scope 2 emissions, which accounts for emissions from energy use, dropped 29% betwixt 2021 and 2022, the institution said.

Amazon has spent millions connected upwind and star projects to powerfulness immoderate of its warehouses, information centers and offices, and precocious became the world's largest firm buyer of renewable energy. It's also pledged for its full concern to beryllium nett zero c by 2040.

Amazon said its scope 3 emissions, which includes indirect sources similar gathering operation and third-party transportation, fell 0.7% successful 2022 aft 3 consecutive years of increases.

The institution has worked to electrify its transportation fleet, including by purchasing 100,000 Rivian electrical transportation vans, which it has said volition deed roads by 2030. The institution present has much than 9,000 electrical vehicles successful its planetary fleet, and 2,600 Rivian vans successful North America, according to the report.

Amazon's clime grounds and the ways it measures its ain biology grounds have faced scrutiny, however. Employees and shareholder groups have raised concerns that Amazon isn't gathering its clime commitments, portion biology justness groups person criticized the company's accelerated warehouse expansion, which they reason generates disproportionate biology harms connected number communities wherever its warehouses are often concentrated.

Amazon recently eliminated one of its clime goals, called Shipment Zero, wherein the institution pledged to marque fractional of each its shipments carbon-neutral by 2030. Amazon said it "no longer made sense" to person a abstracted extremity that applied to 1 country of its business, and that it would alternatively absorption connected the Climate Pledge.

On Tuesday, Amazon said it would besides beryllium updating its proviso concatenation standards to necessitate suppliers to regularly stock their c emissions data, and acceptable emissions reductions goals. The alteration volition instrumentality effect starting adjacent year.