Key Points
Five years ago, in a splashy speech in Washington, DC, Jeff Bezos rolled out Amazons Climate Pledge, a series of commitments to show that the company was serious about addressing climate change...
In a blog post from this Julyheadlined with a picture of a Prime Rivian van driving through an open field filled with wind turbinesthe company proclaims that it has now delivered 800 million packages in the US using EVs, with 15,000 trucks on the road in neighborhoods across the country...
In 2023, the US shipped 21.7 billion parcelsthats 687 packages every second.. Theres one area where things are improving for Amazon: according to the Stand.earth report, emissions per package have been dropping for Amazon since 2020, which, Archer says, is largely thanks to loading more parcels on bigger planes..
Part of the issue in calculating emissions for Amazon is just how sprawling the challenges it faces are, thanks to its relentless vertical integration: the Wall Street Journal reported in May that in order to expand its control over its logistics processes, the company had already leased, bought, or announced plans to expand warehouse space in the US by 16 million square feet this year..
In response to WIREDs request for comment, Kelly listed out Amazons membership in two business organizations advancing sustainable shipping, its membership in a buyers alliance encouraging the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, and its investment in electric trucking: in May, the company put 50 electric trucks on the road in Southern California...
