Though Amazon has had a troubled sustainability past, often being dubbed as a company that lags behind other prominent technology companies in their strides to be more environmentally-friendly, it seems to be making a change. Just this week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the company’s goals to be a decade ahead of Paris Agreement goals. Here’s what you need to know about Amazon’s sustainability future.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduces new sustainability milestones

“If Amazon can set ambitious goals like this and make significant changes at their scale, we think many more companies should be able to do the same and will accept the challenge. We are excited to have others join,” said Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.

As the first signatory of The Climate Pledge, which calls on businesses of signatories to be net zero carbon by 2040, Amazon aims to be 10 years ahead of the United Nations Paris Agreement goals. The companies that sign the climate pledge would agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis, implement decarbonization strategies parallel to the Paris Agreement, and neutralize any remaining emissions by 2040.

Amazon has loftier goals

In addition to these commitments, Bezos announced an order of 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian, a producer of emissions-free electric vehicles. In February, Rivian announced a $700 million investment round led by Amazon, who invested $440 million. Rivian’s vans will start to deliver packages to Amazon customers in 2021 and the plan is to have 10,000 on the road by 2022, then all 100,000 by 2030. This would save 4 million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

Further, Amazon is pledging to reach 80% of renewable energy by 2024 and 100% by 2030. So far, amazon has launched wind and solar renewable energy projects that could be enough to power 368,000 U.S. homes. Adding on to the announcement, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Amazon is launching the Right Now Climate Fund which commits $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands, and peatlands globally.

The newly launched sustainability website will report on Amazon’s commitments, initiatives, and performance to be transparent on their progress towards reaching The Climate Pledge. On the website are various updates and information on Amazon’s commitment to sustainability such as Shipment Zero and the company’s renewable energy projects around the world.

The company’s troubled sustainability past

Amazon has a massive environmental footprint due to a high record of carbon emissions by delivering about 1 billion packages a year to consumers. The company has been a target for environmental activists who were disappointed in the limited action taken to offset the emissions produced. In the past, Amazon had withheld their emission data from the public, creating more suspicion and doubt against the company’s environmental efforts.

More than 1,500 Amazon employees plan to walk off the job to protest the company’s environmental responsibility as a part of a worldwide demonstration ahead of the U.N. climate summit in New York. While the recent announcement addresses most of the concerns of the protestors, Bezos noted that the company will continue to work with oil and gas companies because they have access to the best available tools for transition to sustainable approaches.

Conclusions

As one of the most influential companies, this environmentally conscious announcement could set an example for other companies. Nonetheless, Amazon had a past of broken promises in regards to their social responsibility towards environmental concerns, and it will have to show firm action to convince the skeptics of their commitment.