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The e-commerce giant set decarbonization expectations for high-emitting suppliers in its recently released 2023 sustainability support.
Amazon wants its suppliers to get serious about sustainability.
Amazon’s 2023 Sustainability Report, released Wednesday, stated that the company requires its “highest-emitting suppliers” — which collectively contribute more than 50 percent of its supply chain emissions — to provide a decarbonization plan for their operations. Amazon also expects them to “demonstrate real progress over time” and will deprioritize business to those who do not comply.
“We will prioritize our business toward those who provide their plans and results on their path to net-zero carbon emissions,” the report stated. Amazon could not be reached for further comment.
Amazon generated 68.8 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions in 2023, 51.76 million of which came from its supply chain, according to the report. To help suppliers and companies of all sizes make progress toward net-zero emissions, the company launched the Amazon Sustainability Exchange, a free website that offers guidelines, playbooks, science models, and other sustainability resources.
Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge in 2019, committing alongside 500 companies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. However, the company’s sustainability efforts have generated mixed results. While Amazon saw a 3 percent year-over-year reduction in carbon emissions in 2023, its carbon footprint has risen 34.5 percent since its 2019 pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
“Our progress toward a net-zero carbon business will not be linear, and each year as our various businesses grow and evolve, we will produce different results,” Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer, said in the report. “These results will be influenced by significant changes to our business, investments in growth, and meeting the needs of our customers. Through it all, we will remain steadfast as we invent, adapt, and will our way to meeting our commitment to The Climate Pledge.”
Amazon is just one major retailer that is taking its environmental impact into increased consideration. In 2017, Walmart launched Project Gigaton, an initiative encouraging its 5,900 participating suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint. This February, the retailer reached its goal of reducing, avoiding, or sequestering 1 billion tons of emissions six years earlier than expected.
