Amazon's Carbon Footprint Increased By 18% in 2021
Amazon's carbon emissions increased 18% last year as the company contended with extra pandemic-driven e-commerce demand.
According to its annual sustainability report(Opens in a new window) (PDF), published Monday, Amazon emitted 71.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2021—up 18% from 2020, and nearly 40% more than 2019.
The firm is quick to point out, though, that its carbon intensity, which measures carbon dioxide per dollar of sales, dropped 1.9% in 2021 (compared to a 16% decline in 2020), marking its third consecutive decrease.
The COVID-19 pandemic proved a real boon for e-commerce: As of April 2020, online shopping accounted for nearly half of all US retail sales—a trend that continued through the holiday season. To keep up with consumer demand, Amazon scaled its business at "an unprecedented pace," creating more than 750,000 full- and part-time jobs worldwide and doubling its fulfillment network.
"These developments meant we had to build new facilities—for both our consumer and cloud businesses—and expand our transportation network," the report said, highlighting sustainable solutions like electric vehicles, alternative fuel options, and wind and solar power.
Amazon in 2020 co-founded The Climate Pledge Fund, a $2 billion venture investment program aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 (10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement). Last year alone, the company backed 13 companies across multiple industry sectors, including transportation, aviation, freight, packaging, farming, and technology.
"While we've had success cutting emissions from some operations, we are still early in the process of transforming others," explained Amazon. "Some actions and investments have immediate carbon savings,
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