Amazon is launching a new tool to help shoppers select items that are deemed more environmentally friendly. Products will earn the “Climate Pledge Friendly” label if they have been approved by one of 19 certification programs, including Amazon’s own Compact by Design designation.
Some 25,000 grocery, household, fashion, beauty, electronics and other categories currently carry the label.
The effort supports Amazon’s commitment made a year ago to become carbon neutral by 2040. The online shopping and cloud giant also created the Climate Pledge — an initiative that calls on other corporations to join it in slashing their greenhouse gas emissions and supporting measures to capture carbon.
But the cuts won’t be easy, particularly for the shopping side of Amazon’s business. The company this summer released its 2019 sustainability report, revealing that its greenhouse gas emissions rose 15% over the previous year. More than three-quarters of its footprint came from what is called “indirect sources” or scope 3 that include production, use and disposal of Amazon-branded products; capital goods such as building construction, hardware and vehicles; corporate travel; and packaging.
The eco-labeled products can have smaller climate impacts thanks to their ingredients, production, packaging and other factors. Certifications include better-known programs such as Energy Star and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as well as some less familiar, including the Responsible Wool Standard. Amazon’s Compact by Design label applies to goods that use some combination of smaller packaging, more efficiently shaped containers and concentrated versions of products like soaps to reduce the liquid volume.
“Climate Pledge Friendly is a simple way for customers to discover more sustainable products that help preserve the natural world,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement. “With 18 external certification programs and our own Compact by Design certification, we’re incentivizing selling partners to create sustainable products that help protect the planet for future generations.”
The initiative, however, leaves plenty of room for improvement, said University of Washington political science professor Aseem Prakash. The labels on the site are small and there’s no information about the climate impact of one product compared to another, let alone how it affects Amazon’s overall climate footprint. Prakash has noted in the past that Amazon appears not to include the impact of non-Amazon products in its climate calculations.
“This announcement says nothing about how many emissions will be reduced,” Prakash said. “It’s a welcome step, but it’s a very, very small step.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information from the University of Washington.
