Amazon plans to sell what it describes as “high-quality” carbon credits to its suppliers and customers.
The e-commerce and cloud giant says its partners will be given “access to invest in nature-based projects and carbon removal technologies through high-integrity science-based carbon credits” through its expanded Sustainability Exchange program.
Launched last year, the Sustainability Exchange was set up as a scheme to share best practices in sustainability. It will now also enable member companies to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions.
Carbon credits are used to fund projects that restore areas of the natural environment, such as forests, that have been damaged by human intervention and climate change.
“The voluntary carbon market has been challenged with issues of transparency, credibility, and the availability of high-quality carbon credits, which has led to skepticism about nature and technological carbon removal as an effective tool to combat climate change,” said Kara Hurst, chief sustainability officer at Amazon.
“However, the science is clear: We must halt and reverse deforestation and restore millions of miles of forests to slow the worst effects of climate change.”
Hurst said the company will use its “size and high vetting standards” to ensure that the carbon credits on offer are of sufficient quality. Critics of carbon credits say they often do not represent genuine carbon reductions.
However, they remain popular among tech companies aiming to hit challenging sustainability targets while their overall carbon footprints continue to grow. The likes of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all bought millions of credits between them
Amazon’s latest sustainability report showed that its Scope 1 emissions rose from 13.32 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e) to 14.27m in 2023, but it said all its operations, including data centers, effectively run on renewable energy due to its investment in carbon credits and other schemes.
Companies that have signed up for the carbon credit exchange include the photo-sharing platform Flickr, and real estate and construction firms Seneca Group and Ryan Companies.
"Deforestation drives 30 percent of global emissions - if we don’t end and reverse it, we won't get a handle on climate change,” said Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of environmental non-profit Conservation International. “The game-changer? Major private sector players like Amazon stepping up to recognize that protecting nature is an economic necessity, not just an environmental one.”
