How Amazon is working towards achieving net-zero in India

The effects of climate change are becoming more and more apparent in our surroundings and daily lives. As we celebrate ten years of Amazon.in, it’s an ideal juncture to take stock of the work we’ve done to bring our operations to net-zero carbon by 2040. We would also like to acknowledge the huge amount of work left to do to achieve our ambitious goal, and to stress that we have never been more committed to reach it.

Every day at Amazon, we are obsessed with making our products, services, and experiences even better for our customers. We firmly believe that progress and sustainability go hand in hand. With a culture that fosters constant improvement and innovation, and with collaboration across industries and with governments, we believe we can work together to create a more sustainable future.

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In 2019, Amazon co-founded (and was first signatory of) The Climate Pledge, which commits signatories to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Eight Indian companies – CSM Technologies India, GODI, Greenko, HCL, Infosys, Mahindra Logistics, Tech Mahindra, and UPL Open Ag – have joined more than 400 signatories from 35 countries and 55 industries worldwide.

Signatories agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis; implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations; and neutralise any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, and socially beneficial offsets.

In India, we are well on our way to achieving our goal of having 10,000 EVs by 2025. We have partnered with several vehicle manufacturers in India to build a fleet of EVs that ensure safe and lower-carbon deliveries of customer orders.

Our partnership with Bengaluru-based EV firm SUN Mobility to pilot and deploy innovative battery swapping technology in our delivery fleet is a part of this commitment. We continue to invite innovators and solution providers in India’s electric mobility and sustainable transportation industry to connect with us and explore potential collaborations.

In July 2021, we announced the first investment by the Climate Pledge Fund in an India-based startup, ION Energy. The company develops software to make lithium-ion batteries in EVs and energy-storage systems perform better and longer. This battery performance enhancement may lead to the development of scalable solutions that can play a crucial role in achieving our ambitious climate goals. The fund invests in visionary companies whose product and service solutions will facilitate the transition to a zero-carbon economy. To date, Amazon has announced investments in 22 companies, including CarbonCure, Redwood Materials, Hippo Harvest, and Infinium.

We launched six significant utility-scale projects in India in the past year on our path to reaching 100% renewable energy across our operations by 2025. This includes three wind-solar hybrid projects located in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Representing a renewable energy capacity of 500MW, these projects are among significantly large wind-solar hybrid corporate power purchase agreements (PPA) by a technology company in India.

Combined with three solar farms in Rajasthan, our utility-scale renewable energy project portfolio in India, represents a total capacity of 920MW. Our wind-solar hybrid projects align with India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's wind-solar hybrid policy, supporting the efficient utilisation of transmission infrastructure, land, and reducing variability in renewable generation. These improve grid stability.

Amazon's continued investments in renewable energy have earned us the distinction of setting a new corporate record for the most renewable energy announced globally by a single company in one year. As per Bloomberg New Energy Finance, we also maintain our position as the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, a title we have held since 2020. These investments not only drive our sustainability goals but also accelerate growth in new regions through innovative deal structures, technologies, and cloud solutions.

In India, we ensured 100% elimination of single-use, thin-film plastic packaging originating from Amazon’s fulfilment network in the country. We’ve replaced plastic packaging materials such as bubble wraps and air pillows with paper cushion. Since 2015, we have globally reduced the weight of outbound packaging per shipment by 38% and eliminated over 1.5 million tons of packaging material.

Our packaging material in India, including corrugated boxes and paper cushions, is recyclable and made of 100% recycled content. We have also introduced 100% plastic-free and biodegradable paper tape for sealing and securing customer shipments. Packaging-free shipping is a packaging solution in which customer orders are shipped in their original packaging without any additional packaging or with significantly reduced packaging. We have now expanded our packaging-free shipping initiative to more than 300 cities across the country.

The journey to become more sustainable is not simple or straightforward for any organisation. For a company of the size and broad scope of Amazon, it’s a big challenge. But at Amazon, we don’t shy away from big challenges. We innovate and create. Through collaborating with partners (such as the Indian signatories of The Climate Pledge and our allies globally), sustainable transportation solution providers, and the recipients of the Climate Pledge Fund, we believe we can make a real difference. We're happy with what we've achieved so far, but we know there's more work ahead. We strive to create a more sustainable future for our customers, employees, and the planet.