On September 19th, Jeff Bezos outlined the new Amazon climate plan. This plan pledges that Amazon will meet the Paris Agreements goal 10 years early.
Thus, Amazon plans to be carbon neutral by 2040.
However, unlike other companies who make these pledges, Jeff Bezos was able to offer a clear plan of action. This includes the company switching to 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% by 2030.
On top of this, the company also plans to replace its delivery trucks with electric vans. It has plans to introduce 100,000 electric delivery vans to its delivery line starting 2021 and promises that all of them will be in service by 2024.
The company also announced a $100 million plan for reforestation.
The Economic Impact of Two-Day Shipping
If there’s one thing people associate Amazon with it’s two-day shipping. In fact, it is the reason that every major online retailer offers it. Without it, they simply cannot compete.
However, fast shipping is resulting in less efficient routes. This means that more delivery trucks are on the road making smaller deliveries. Which means more carbon emissions.
The company is trying to fix this by having customers get all of their packages on one day instead of multiple packages throughout the week. But, Amazon is also planning 1-day shipping on certain items, which will only worsen the situation.
Free fast shipping sounds great, but the environment is certainly paying for it.
Employees Making A Difference
While it is clear that Amazon was preparing for this shift, the announcements came as a direct response to workers who plan to go on strike.
The Amazon Employees for Climate Justice has called this announcement “A huge win” and will still be participating in the planned climate strike. The group will be joining young protesters in one of the largest climate strikes in history.
The new Amazon climate plan just goes to show that anyone can make a difference.