Amazon’s Climate Pledge is taking on a higher profile, with its name on a Seattle sports arena, and more than a dozen new companies on its list.
Microsoft, Unilever, Neste, Brooks and others were named as new signatories to the Climate Pledge on Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 31 signatories, the company said. Amazon announced the Climate Pledge last year, promising to meet the net-zero emissions goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change by 2040, 10 years ahead of schedule.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement that the companies are “sending an important signal to the market that there is significant and rapidly growing demand for technologies that can help us build a zero-carbon economy.”
The inclusion of Microsoft is notable in part because the two Seattle-area tech giants have been on parallel tracks on the environment. Microsoft announced its own climate plan in January and followed up this summer by forming its own coalition, Transform to Net Zero. Asked if it would join Microsoft’s coalition, Amazon told Matt Day of Bloomberg News that it’s “fully focused on the Climate Pledge.”
So, will Amazon reciprocate the climate initiative diplomacy and join the Transform to Net Zero coalition, which is backed by new Amazon Climate Pledge signers Microsoft and Unilever?
Amazon PR: "We are fully focused on the Climate Pledge." https://t.co/jLi7bSd7zF
— Matt Day (@mattmday) December 9, 2020
Seattle-based Brooks, which specializes in running shoes and apparel, says it recently adopted a plan to reduce its carbon footprint in line with climate science, enabling it to commit to the goal of net-zero emissions by 2040. “As we create new gear and run our global business, we seek to minimize our environmental impact, create positive social change, and be transparent about areas where we can do better,” said Brooks CEO Jim Weber in a statement.
Amazon’s Climate Pledge is part of a broader set of environmental initiatives from the company, including a $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund.
The company has its work cut out for itself in trying to meet the goals. An Amazon sustainability report this summer disclosed that its carbon footprint had increased by 15% year-over-year. However, emissions did grow at a slower pace than net sales. The group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice started publicly pushing the company to address climate issues beginning in 2018.
Amazon bought naming rights to the former KeyArena in Seattle earlier this year, and the new Climate Pledge Arena signs atop the roof were lit on Tuesday night.
new sign, who dis? pic.twitter.com/pYAnmSsSdz
— Climate Pledge Arena (@ClimateArena) December 9, 2020
