Amazon discovers the hard way that decarbonization is about more than good intentions
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a prestigious UN endorsed body tasked with validating corporate emissions reduction plans, says it is removing Amazon from its list of companies committed to meeting climate targets, noting it has not implemented credible measures.
Since announcing its Climate Pledge in 2019 to eliminate or offset all of its emissions by 2040, Amazon has increased them by no less than 40%, reflecting the enormous difficulties of decarbonizing an activity such as e-commerce and logistics. The company is trying to electrify its delivery vans and to eliminate fossil fuels from its energy sources, but its sheer size means that it is struggling, for example, with something as simple as the ability to manufacture electric vans, or to supply certified green energy.
So far, Amazon has only managed to lower its emissions in 2022, and that was simply due to a slowdown in its activity. So SBTi has effectively downgraded Amazon’s efforts to greenwashing, adding its name to a list of shame that includes 120 other companies, out of a total of 5,700 that have published and audited their targets, stripped of any environmental credibility.
Why does it matter if SBTi takes you off its list? Because it is one of the most influential…
