Why Amazon’s own employees are calling it out for greenwashing
Just two days ago, Amazon’s communications department proudly announced that the company had achieved its goal of powering 100% of its activities with renewable energy — a feat accomplished seven years ahead of schedule. However, this claim was quickly challenged by an unexpected source: Amazon’s own employees.
The activist group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice swiftly countered with their own report, aptly titled “Burns Trust: The Amazon Unsustainability Report”. In it, they accused the company of blatant greenwashing, asserting that the true amount of renewable energy consumed by Amazon hovers around a mere 22% — a discrepancy far too large to be dismissed as a “small difference” or “rounding error.”
So, how do we reconcile this stark contrast between Amazon’s claims of 100% renewable energy usage and its employees’ assertion of just over one-fifth? The answer is to be found by delving into the complicated world of carbon offset credits, also known as Renewable Energy Certificates, or simply RECs. The company buys enough credits to offset its emissions, but it does not do so in a way, let’s say, “orderly”, but simply to meet the requirement and be able to affirm what it claims. Is it makeup? No, it is simply a way of using common practices in all industries (pollutants), but which are a perversion of the…
