A look at Amazon’s sustainability efforts this Earth Month

Every day at Amazon, teams are working hard inventing, creating and collaborating across businesses and with partners to become more-sustainable. This Earth Month we’re highlighting the progress we’ve made as we continue to look ahead – it’s just the beginning.

• Taking Action, Together – The Climate Pledge. Amazon and now more than 300 companies are committed to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040. Since 2019, The Climate Pledge – which was co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism – has grown to include hundreds of companies like Unilever, Nespresso and Telefónica all with a joint commitment to work together and take bold steps to decarbonise and fight climate change. Learn more about The Climate Pledge.

• Investing in Others – The Climate Pledge Fund. In 2020, Amazon launched The Climate Pledge Fund with an initial $2 billion in funding to help support visionary companies whose products and services will help businesses reach net-zero carbon to fight against climate change. So far, Amazon has invested in 13 innovative companies, including Italy-based CMC Machinery, which designs technology that makes custom-sized boxes that eliminate the need for single-use plastic packaging, and ZeroAvia, the British-American start-up leader in zero-emission aviation that focuses on hydrogen-electric solutions. Learn more about The Climate Pledge Fund.

• Electrifying our Fleet. Amazon is committed to electrifying its delivery fleet. This year we have launched five electric Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in our delivery fleet for the first time in the UK. The vehicles replace diesel HGVs, resulting in up to 100,000 annual road miles fuelled with renewable electricity instead of diesel, preventing 170 tonnes of CO2e from being emitted. They are the first of nine electric HGVs expected by the end of 2022, joining more than 1,000 electric delivery vans currently on the road in the UK. Learn more about our first-ever fully electric heavy goods vehicles in our UK fleet.

• Powering Operations with Renewable Energy. Amazon is on a path to powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of the initial 2030 target. Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in Europe, with solar or wind projects in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and other countries across the region. In 2020, Amazon became the first consumer electronics company to commit to addressing the electricity used by Amazon-branded devices through renewable energy development, starting with our Echo devices. We are making investments in additional wind and solar farm capacity that, by 2025, will produce the clean energy equivalent to the use of all Echo, Fire TV, and Ring devices worldwide.

• Smart Packaging. Amazon uses machine learning algorithms to arrive at the best possible packaging choices for deliveries. That means identifying which products don’t need additional packaging, and which smaller products are suitable for flexible packaging, such as envelopes and bags, which are up to 75% lighter than similar-sized boxes. As a result, since 2015 Amazon has reduced the weight of outbound packaging per shipment by 36% and eliminated over one million tonnes of packaging material. Learn more about how we're improving our packaging.

• Recycling. Amazon has stopped packing products in single-use plastic delivery bags and envelopes in its distribution network in the UK and multiple other countries across Europe. This includes items sold by Amazon and third-party selling partners that use Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). Customers in the UK are now receiving packages in flexible paper bags and cardboard envelopes instead, which are more easily recyclable in household recycling across the UK, are made with more recycled content, and reduce volume compared to deliveries in corrugated cardboard boxes. Learn more about reducing single-use plastic in our distribution network
  

Amazon also wants to make it easier for customers to make more-sustainable choices. Below are ways customers can do so:

• Climate Pledge Friendly. In 2020, Amazon launched Climate Pledge Friendly to help customers discover and shop for more-sustainable products on Amazon, with every product having one or more of 39 certifications that help protect the natural world. Over 100,000 products are now available in Europe through Climate Pledge Friendly across beauty, wellness, apparel, electronics, household and grocery.

• Amazon Aware. This year Amazon launched its first private brand with products all having third-party certifications featured in the Climate Pledge Friendly programme. The Amazon Aware line features thoughtfully designed, affordable, everyday essentials across apparel, home, beauty and other categories, all made from materials such as recycled polyester, organic cotton and bio-based ingredients with certifications specific to product type.

• Amazon Launchpad. Amazon Launchpad provides expertise and support for new brands, entrepreneurs and startups to help them overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products. Amazon and EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s leading climate innovation hub, created the Amazon Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator, which is designed to help founders navigate the challenges of starting and scaling a sustainable business through expert-led virtual workshops, specialised mentorship, a tailored curriculum, access to a network of like-minded founders, and office space in Amazon’s headquarters in Shoreditch, London this year.

• Amazon Renewed. Refurbished products on Amazon Renewed have been inspected and tested by qualified suppliers to work and look like new, plus they are backed by our 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee. Customers can find great prices on pre-owned smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktops and cameras, across top brands, including, Apple, Samsung, Canon, Beats and more.

• Amazon Warehouse. When shopping on Amazon, customers can find pre-owned products through Amazon Warehouse, all with great deals. This includes millions of quality pre-owned, used and open-box items that have all passed a 20-point quality inspection and are backed by a 30-day return policy.

• Support Environmental Organisations While You Shop. Amazon Smile is a simple way to support a charity or organisation with your everyday purchases, at no additional cost to you. When you shop with smile.amazon.co.uk, you’ll find the same products, same low prices and same convenient shopping experience – with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate a portion of your eligible purchases to the charity of your choice. There are more than one million charitable organisations to choose from globally.

• Trade it in. Customers can trade in a well-loved Amazon device—as well as devices from brands like Apple, Microsoft and Samsung, and mobile phones and video games—for an Amazon gift card. With Amazon’s Trade-In programme, the devices are either restored and re-sold, or recycled through an Amazon-certified recycler, ensuring a more sustainable way to dispose of devices.

• Learn More about Recycling. Through Amazon Second Chance, customers can learn how to recycle all types of Amazon packaging in their local communities. Additionally, when a customer’s order arrives, they are provided with specific details of how to recycle and dispose of packaging by clicking on the “Returns & Orders” section of their account. The website also has information on how to trade in and recycle products, and how to find open-box and refurbished devices.

Learn more about sustainability at Amazon.