Amazon’s Vision for Net Zero Carbon Shipments

Amazon has consistently made headlines for its commitment to sustainability.

Within its operations departments, the company employs over 200 scientists, engineers, and product designers that are soley tasked wiht coming up with sustainable options.

One of the company’s long-term goals is to power global infrastructure using 100% renewable energy, and has seen improvements in electric vehicles, aviation biofuels, reusable packaging, and renewable energy. 

Now, Amazon is shooting for net zero carbon delivery of shipments to customers and has set a goal to reach 50% of all Amazon shipments with net zero carbon by 2030.

The company refers to the project as “Shipment Zero.”

Managing the carbon footprint of products across the supply chain is the next step for businesses that are looking to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change.

According to Carbon Trust, the motivation behind such actions across businesses include increases in direct energy costs and the energy costs of suppliers, existing and planned legislation which penalizes high energy consumption and rewards emissions reductions and changing consumer attitudes to climate change, which presents forward-thinking companies with an opportunity to develop and market low-carbon products.

How does it all come together in the supply chain?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990–2016 (the Inventory), the national inventory that the U.S. prepares annually under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), transportation accounted for the largest portion (28%) of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2016. Cars, trucks, commercial aircraft, and railroads, among other sources, all contribute to transportation end-use sector emissions.

One way to support this reduced emissions across supply chains, in general, includes increasing the number of distribution centers, encouraging in-store pickup, and managing pick-up. In addition, creating a more sustainable supply chain by reducing carbon emissions will require cooperation and coordination across all levels including node suppliers, management, executives, and the accompanying technology tying everything together.