Amazon Will Require Suppliers to Set Mitigation Goals in 2024

Amazon announced that starting in 2024, suppliers will have to share their carbon emissions data and set carbon mitigation goals to keep working with the e-commerce giant. In 2022, Amazon’s solar and wind projects across the world powered 90% of its operations. The company's goal is to achieve 100% of renewable energy installed capacity by 2025.

In July, 2023, Amazon released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which shows progress in its ESG targets and commitments. “In 2022, we took important steps forward across our social, community and environmental work, while also continuing to expand our sustainability vision for the future of our business. We know that sustainability is important to our customers and we are continuously investing, inventing and improving to make every interaction more sustainable than the last,” stated Kara Hurst, President of Worldwide Sustainability, Amazon. 

Heather Clancy, Vice President and Editorial Director, GreenBiz, who conducted an analysis of the company's sustainability report, highlighted that Amazon’s new policy, which requires suppliers to deliver regular reports on carbon emissions, as well as the establishment of greener goals, could have an important impact throughout the company’s supply chain. 

Clancy pointed out that the report does not explain many more details about the program, nor does it mention exemptions for small suppliers. However, the report states that Amazon will provide select suppliers tools to track emissions and help decrease them. Likewise, they will help them transition to carbon-free electricity. Moreover, the company will continue to seek new business partners with a decarbonization vision that can help it achieve its own sustainability goals. 

In 2022, Amazon reduced its carbon footprint by 0.4%, while its year-over-year net sales grew 9%. This is largely due to the company’s efforts to grow its renewable energy matrix. In 2022, 90% of Amazon’s energy demand was powered by renewable energy sources, thanks to more than 400 wind and solar projects around the world. The company expects to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. Moreover, Amazon is paying more attention to sustainable delivery options. Last year the company’s delivery fleet included 9,000 EV, with 5,000 operating solely in the US. By 2030, the company’s goal is to have 100,000 electric delivery vans on the road. 

In May 2023, Amazon also launched the Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) program in Mexico, which aims to give access to customers to a wide range of sustainable and second-hand items. In addition, the initiative provides information about the circular economy, along with tips for recycling packaging, batteries and other items. Currently, Amazon has more than 550,000 CPF products available. According to the sustainability report, the company shipped more than 800 million CPF-certified products in 2022.