Amazon has announced that all the electricity used across its global operations was matched with 100% renewable energy in 2023.
The company had previously set the 100% renewable energy goal for 2030, but has met the target seven years ahead of schedule.
Amazon is claimed to be the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world. It has invested in more than 500 solar and wind projects, including seven renewable energy projects in Australia.
“Reaching our renewable energy goal is an incredible achievement, and we’re proud of the work we’ve done to get here, seven years early,” says Amazon Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst.
“We also know that this is just a moment in time, and our work to decarbonise our operations will not always be the same each year—we’ll continue to make progress, while also constantly evolving on our path to 2040.
“Our teams will remain ambitious and continue to do what is right for our business, our customers and the planet. That’s why we’ll continue investing in solar and wind projects, while also supporting other forms of carbon-free energy, that can help power our operations for decades to come.”
Australian efforts
In Australia, Amazon has now enabled seven renewable energy projects. This includes four utility scale projects – an operational solar farm in Wandoan, Queensland, operational solar farms in Suntop and Gunnedah in NSW, and a wind farm in Hawkesdale, Victoria – as well as three rooftop solar projects on Amazon facilities in Melbourne and Sydney.
Once operational, the projects are expected to generate more than 1000 gigawatt-hours of clean power, enough to power more than 175,000 Australian homes. These projects are helping to power Amazon’s Australian operations, including Amazon data centres, and fulfilment centres, while also providing new sources of clean power to local communities and the east coast grid.
Beyond renewable energy
Amazon is also focused on improving its packaging to reduce waste and single use plastic in customer deliveries.
One of the first priorities is to eliminate additional Amazon packaging altogether through the ‘Ships in Product Packing’ program.
In Australia, Amazon says it has more than tripled the number of orders to customers with no added delivery packaging since 2021.
When additional Amazon packaging is required to ship a product, the company creates paper-based packaging and prioritises recyclable materials. All Amazon boxes shipped from the Australian fulfilment centre network are kerbside recyclable and all single-use plastic air pillows have been replaced with recyclable paper material.