Amazon’s Carbon Footprint Grew 15 Percent Last Year Despite Green Pledges

Amazon said activities tied to its businesses emitted 51.17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year.

By Associated Press | Updated: 24 June 2020 16:19 IST

Amazon’s Carbon Footprint Grew 15 Percent Last Year Despite Green Pledges

The increase in carbon footprint shows how tricky it is for a company like Amazon to reduce pollution

Highlights

Amazon has kept $2 billion to invest in companies in climate change
Amazon disclosed its carbon footprint the first time last year
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion of his personal fortune to fund scientists

Amazon said Tuesday that its carbon footprint rose 15 percent last year, even as it launched initiatives to reduce its harm on the environment.

The online shopping giant said activities tied to its businesses emitted 51.17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year, the equivalent of 13 coal burning power plants running for a year. That's up from 2018, when it reported a carbon footprint of 44.4 million metric tons. Amazon disclosed its carbon footprint the first time last year after employees pressured the company to do more to combat climate change.

Gregg Marland, a professor at the Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics at Appalachian State University, said his first reaction to Amazon's massive carbon footprint was, “Oh wow.” But he said the company was comprehensive in calculating the number, even including the emissions from shoppers' drives to its Whole Foods grocery stores and the energy used to make a Kindle tablet.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Amazon said that while its carbon footprint grew, the amount of carbon it emitted for every dollar spent on the site fell 5 percent between 2018 and 2019.

The Seattle-based company also said it's on track to have 100 percent of its energy use come from solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy by 2025, five years earlier than it had planned. And on Tuesday, Amazon announced it would start a $2 billion (roughly Rs. 15,130 crores) fund to invest in companies that make products and technology that help fight climate change.

But the increase in its carbon footprint shows how tricky it is for a rapidly-growing company like Amazon to cut down on pollution. Amazon depends on fuel-guzzling planes and trucks to ship billions of items a year around the world. Emissions from fossil fuels rose 18 percent last year, Amazon said Tuesday.

Amazon Aims to Make Half Its Shipments Carbon Neutral by 2030

Orders have increased amid the coronavirus pandemic, as more stuck-at-hope people shop online. To keep up, and deliver on time, Amazon said this month that it leased a dozen more Boeing 767s, bringing its fleet of jets to more than 80.

Earlier this year, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said he would spend $10 billion (roughly Rs. 75,692 crores) of his personal fortune to fund scientists, activists and non-profits working to improve the environment.

Is Mi Notebook 14 series the best affordable laptop range for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.