Amazon to Sell Carbon Credits, Expanding Sustainability Efforts
LONDON – Amazon has entered the carbon credit market, offering credits for sale to its suppliers, business customers, and other companies. The move, announced by the U.S. retail giant, is designed to help offset their climate-damaging carbon emissions while promoting investment in environmental projects.
This initiative comes amidst an ongoing debate regarding the use and quality of carbon credits. Companies, project developers, and scientists are discussing how best to utilize these credits to assist in emissions reduction efforts. Amazon stated it intends to adopt industry-leading standards and support the development of rigorous standards in areas where current checks are inadequate.
This marks Amazon’s first venture into carbon credit sales. However, the company has previously been involved in industry efforts to establish quality standards and has made direct investments in projects that protect forests, rehabilitate degraded land, and advance carbon removal. Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer, indicated that the company seeks to leverage its “size and high vetting standards to help promote additional investments in nature.”
Several companies are already participating in this scheme, including Flickr, real estate advisory group Seneca, and consumer electronics company Corsair, according to a statement released Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which assists companies in setting decarbonization targets, advised that carbon credits could be employed but should be limited to residual emissions—those that remain after a company has made proactive efforts to reduce emissions. However, the initiative refrained from endorsing the wider use of carbon credits in meeting decarbonization targets.
The Bezos Earth Fund, established by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was a major supporter of SBTi until November 2023, when its $18 million grant to the group was not renewed.
Amazon has stipulated that companies must meet certain conditions to be eligible for its credits. These requirements include having a net-zero target that encompasses both their own emissions and those across their supply chain, as well as measuring and publicly reporting their greenhouse gas emissions. (Reporting by Virginia Furness)
