The world’s largest e-commerce company has achieved its goal of running on renewable energy 7 years ahead of schedule. This is the main conclusion of the Amazon’s Sustainability Report 2023This is a milestone that was established in 2019 —to be met in 2030— and which concerns all global electricity consumption in its corporate buildings, stores and logistics centers.
To be able to feed them with 100% renewable energy, Amazon has invested billions of euros in more than 500 solar and wind projects around the world. In Spain, this includes 79 initiatives carried out, which add up to a combined renewable capacity of more than 2.9 GW. Within our borders, the company has completed 49 large-scale projects (37 solar and 12 wind) and 30 solar rooftops on its own buildings. This makes it Spain is the second country in which Amazon has promoted the most renewable energy projects worldwidesecond only to the United States. In the last five years, they have promoted renewable energy projects in 27 countries.
“Reaching our renewable energy goal is a very important achievement for us, and we are proud of the work we have done to achieve it 7 years ahead of schedule,” said Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer of Amazon. During the presentation of the document, the official also announced that the company will continue investing in solar and wind projects with a view to reaching this goal. In turn, she announced that they will also “rely” on “Other forms of carbon-free energy that can help to fuel our operations for decades to come.”
Amazon has been the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in Spain and the world during four consecutive yearsaccording to the Bloomberg NEF strategic information center. Since 2019, it has also been the first company to enable the development of large-scale renewable projects in India, Greece, South Africa, Japan and Indonesia.
In addition to large projects, Amazon has led the installation of nearly 300 rooftop solar projects at its global facilities. In total, the company’s renewable energy portfolio will help avoid approximately 27.8 million tons of carbon emissions per year once all projects are up and running.
“Amazon has enabled the construction of hundreds of new solar and wind projects, bringing new sources of clean energy to power grids and communities around the world,” said Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at Bloomberg NEF. “Addressing climate change while balancing society’s growing energy demand is a massive challenge. Amazon’s commitment to clean energy demonstrates how we can help our communities grow and thrive.” A single company can help accelerate the transition to a low-emission economy carbon emissions on a global scale,” he said.
The company stresses that achieving this goal represents an important milestone in its efforts to Achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040a commitment that was announced in 2019 with the launch of The Climate PledgeLooking ahead, Amazon plans to continue investing in renewable energy projects around the world as a primary source of carbon-free energy to power its operations.
Amazon leads the purchase of offshore wind
In 2023, Amazon became the largest corporate buyer of offshore wind energy worldwideThe company has around 1.7 GW of renewable capacity with six offshore wind farms in Europe that, once operational, are expected to generate energy equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of 1.8 million European households.
To maximize the efficiency of these projects, Amazon is collaborating with wind technology developers to optimize turbine design. A major milestone came last year when Amazon-Shell’s HKN Offshore Wind Project, located off the coast of the Netherlands and with more than 750 MW of capacity, became the first wind turbine to be developed. First offshore wind farm enabled by Amazon in starting operations.
Amazon’s renewable energy in Spain
In 2023, the e-commerce giant once again reaffirmed its position as the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in our country. renewable energy projects promoted by Amazon in Spain To date they are located in:
- Andalusia, with 7 solar plants that add up to a combined renewable capacity of more than 625 MW.
- Aragon, with 2 solar and 3 wind projects, with a combined renewable capacity of more than 254 MW.
- Catalonia, which has 3 wind projects in the province of Lleida, with a combined renewable capacity of 108 MW.
- Castilla-La Mancha leads the ranking, with 11 solar projects with a combined renewable capacity of more than 562 MW.
- Castilla y León, where they have 8 solar projects and 3 wind projects, with a combined renewable capacity of more than 462 MW.
- Extremadura, with 4 solar projects with a combined renewable capacity of 647 MW.
- Madrid, which hosts 2 solar projects, with a combined renewable capacity of more than 112 MW.
- Navarra, where we find 2 solar projects, with a combined renewable capacity of more than 72 MW.
- Valencian Community, with 4 solar projects, with a combined renewable capacity of 108 MW.
In addition, the Amazon’s two largest solar rooftops in Europe are located in Spain. The first, in his Dos Hermanas logistics centre (Seville), with more than 13,300 solar panels with a capacity of 5.26 MW of renewable energy. The second largest is located at its MAD7 logistics centre in Illescas (Toledo), which has more than 13,000 solar panels and has a capacity of more than 5 MW of renewable energy.
Other highlights of Amazon’s 2023 Sustainability Report include: The company’s carbon intensity decreased for the fifth year consecutive (13% in 2023) and the total carbon footprint also decreased, by 3%. This suggests that Amazon is managing to decouple its business growth from its emissions (in 2023, sales grew by 12% compared to the previous year).
Since 2015, Amazon has reduced the weight of packaging per shipment by an average of 43% and has avoided the use of more than 3 million tons of packaging, of which more than 446,000 tons were avoided in 2023 alone. This reduction in packaging has been achieved thanks to various initiatives implemented by the company. In Europe, more than 50% of Amazon shipments are already made without additional packaging or in reduced packaging (paper and cardboard envelopes), all of which are 100% recyclable and lighter than cardboard boxes.
In terms of transportation, Amazon continues to drive the transition to a zero-emission delivery fleet. Its delivery partners have more than 24,000 electric vehicles on the road worldwideand in 2023, 680 million packages were delivered through this electric fleet.