Amazon says its carbon footprint grew 19% last year
Amazon says that its carbon footprint grew 19% last year as it rushed to deliver a surge of online orders during the pandemic
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amazon said Wednesday that its carbon footprint grew 19% last year as it rushed to deliver a surge of online orders during the pandemic.
The online shopping behemoth said activities tied to its businesses emitted 60.64 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year — the equivalent of burning through 140 million barrels of oil. Amazon's carbon footprint has risen every year since 2018, when it first disclosed its carbon footprint after employees pressured it to do so.
The Seattle-based company said that, while its carbon footprint grew, the amount of carbon it emitted for every dollar spent on the site fell 16% in 2020.
But the increase in its total carbon footprint shows how hard it is for a fast-growing company like Amazon to cut down on pollution.
The company has been buying up solar energy, making its gadgets out of recycled plastic and even renamed a Seattle hockey arena after its climate-change initiative.
However, Amazon depends on fuel-burning planes and trucks to ship billions of items around the world. In fact, it announced earlier this year that it would buy 11 jets to get packages to shoppers faster. Amazon's emissions from fossil fuels soared 69% last year.
There was some improvement. Because more people stayed home and ordered online during the pandemic, the emissions from shoppers' drives to Amazon's Whole Foods grocery stores fell 32%, the company said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.