For many years criticized by environment as being a laggard on sustainability, Amazon has been very aggressive of late, including news in early August that it will require consistent reporting of emissions data and emissions goal setting from by its suppliers.
With the recent release of its 2022 sustainability report, a letter inside the publication from vice president of worldwide sustainability Kara Hurst, informs suppliers of a change to Amazon’s Supply Chain Standards that will mandate CO2 emissions reporting starting next year.
This in support of Amazon’s goal of net zero emissions by 2040. Amazon also has pledged to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
Previously, Amazon’s supplier standard only suggested they should report their emissions data on a voluntary basis.
In the report, Amazon also pledged to provide suppliers with products and tools they will need to reduce CO2 emissions, from resources to help with a transition to renewable energy to facilitating access to sustainable materials.
Interestingly, earlier this year Amazon announced it had abandoned its then existing “Shipment Zero” commitment, which had promise to decarbonize 50% of its customer shipments by 2030.
Instead, Amazon said, it was absorbing its shipping goals into its wider Climate Pledge program.
It is generally understood to reach its global net zero targets, Amazon and other companies need to ensure they have an accurate emissions picture from their suppliers. Large companies in particular need to accurately establish what their emissions are across their complex supply chains, or so-called Scope 3 emissions.
In blog post in July, Hurst offered “9 takeaways from Amazon’s 2022 Sustainability Report.” Those are:
1. Amazon is powering its operations by renewable energy with new wind and solar farms: In 2022, 90% of electricity consumed by Amazon was powered by renewable energy sources.
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2. Amazon is growing its fleet of electric and sustainable delivery options: In 2022, Amazon had more than 9,000 electric delivery vehicles in its global fleet.
 3. Amazon is minimizing waste and excess packaging: In 2022, Amazon decreased single-use plastic by 11.6% across its global operations by expanding paper-based packaging, and continuing to use lighter and more-flexible packaging.
4. Amazon is reducing supply chain emissions: Hurst reinforces the new supplier reporting mandate.
5. Amazon is lowering its total emissions footprint and carbon intensity as the business: Amazon is successfully decoupling its emissions growth from the growth of our business, as carbon intensity decreased 7% in 2022.
6. Amazon is designing data centers with a lower carbon footprint: Research shows that using Amazon’s AWS can lower customers’ workload carbon footprints by nearly 80% compared to on-premises computing workloads.
7. Amazon is offering customers more sustainable product choices: In 2022, Amazon more than doubled the number of Climate Pledge Friendly (CFP) products available, and today, customers can shop from more than 550,000 CFP products.
8. Amazon is respecting human rights with responsible business conduct: In 2022, Amazon committed $3 million to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Climate Gender Equity Fund to address inequities that exist for women in the climate finance ecosystem.
9. Amazon is advancing supplier diversity: In 2022, Amazon spent $3.3 billion with 375 certified diverse suppliers.
“We know there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to being a sustainable company, and we know that progress may look different every year on this journey,” Hurst concluded.
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