Amazon Announces $2B Climate Fund
Yesterday, the company also announced that CO2 emissions increased 15% in 2019
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• less than 3 min read
When Microsoft pledges $1 billion to fund climate innovation, Jeff Bezos has one option: double it.
Yesterday, Amazon announced a $2 billion venture fund to invest in clean tech that helps fight climate change. The company will spread investments across industries, from transportation and logistics to food and agriculture.
- Tip for aspirants: Bezos hates PowerPoints.
The backstory: After employees put the pressure on senior leadership last year, Amazon cofounded “The Climate Pledge” and set ambitious goals to be carbon neutral by 2040 and use 100% renewables by 2025.
- Bezos is also putting his “world’s richest man”-sized wallet to use with the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund he announced in February.
The messaging could use some work
Because when you deliver about 10 billion items a year...your carbon footprint is about the size of Finland.
Amazon’s CO2 emissions increased 15% in 2019 to nearly 51.2 million metric tons, the company revealed yesterday. However, Amazon’s benchmark for success, carbon intensity (emissions per dollar of sales), fell 5%.
Bottom line: Amazon has a long way to go to hit its ambitious climate goals.
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