Amazon Vows to be Carbon Neutral by 2030

Jeff Bezos expects 80% of Amazon's energy use to come from renewable sources by 2024, up from a current rate of 40%, before transitioning to zero emissions by 2030

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Often blamed for being one of the main causes for Climate Change, Amazon has committed to the meet the goals of the United Nations Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule, as well as measure and report the company's  emissions on a regular basis.

Jeff Bezos unveiled the plan at an event at the National Press Club. There he said that he expects 80% of Amazon's energy use to come from renewable sources by 2024, up from a current rate of 40%, before transitioning to zero emissions by 2030, CNBC reports. 

“We want to use our scale and our scope to lead the way,” Bezos said. “One of the things we know about Amazon as a role model for this is that it’s a difficult challenge for us because we have deep, large physical infrastructure. So, if we can do this, anyone can do this.”

The e-commerce giant has agreed to purchase 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian, with the expectations that the vans will be on the road by 2021. 

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In addition, Amazon will also work with companies in its supply chain to help decarbonize and reach the same goals outlines in the plan. It also plans to meet with other large corporations to get them to sign the agreement, CNBC reports. 

This isn't the first time Amazon has addressed climate change. In February, the company announced it would make half of all its shipments carbon neutral by 2030 by using more eco-friendly packaging and using more renewable energy. 

For its "Shipment Zero" effort, Amazon will  will continue to use scale and the feedback customers share with it to enable and encourage suppliers up and down the supply chain to reduce its own environmental impact. This follows an extensive project over the past two years to develop an advanced scientific model to carefully map our carbon footprint to provide our business teams with detailed information helping them identify ways to reduce carbon use in their businesses. 

In addition, the company has "Amazon Day" which allows all U.S. Prime members to choose a day of the week to be their delivery day. All purchases made throughout the week will be grouped and delivered together on that specified day, which Amazon says in many cases will result in fewer packages. Members can still, however, opt out if there are any items they do not want to include as part of their Amazon Day shipment.

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