Amazon’s Climate Pledge initiative signs up 20 more companies

The e-commerce giant co-founded the initiative to encourage companies to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement before they are due

In June last year, Amazon also rolled out a Climate Pledge Fund to invest in sustainable businesses. Reuters

Twenty more companies have joined The Climate Pledge initiative co-founded by US e-commerce giant Amazon and London-based Global Optimism that aims to help reduce carbon emissions.

The new signatories, which include firms such as Acciona, Generation Investment Management, Green Britain Group, IBM, Iceland Foods, Johnson Controls and Vanderlande have committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

They represent different industries including energy, agriculture and financial services.

"Each company is implementing science-based, high-impact changes to its business to help decarbonise the value chain … including innovating in circular economy, deploying clean energy solutions and mobilising supply chains to reach net-zero by 2040," Amazon said in a statement.

The Climate Pledge was initiated in October 2019 to encourage companies to achieve the Paris Agreement's goals a decade before they are due.

The new additions increase the number of signatories to 53. They represent 18 industries across 12 countries.

“As the US takes an important step forward in the fight against climate change by officially rejoining the Paris Agreement this week, I am excited to welcome 20 new companies to The Climate Pledge who want to go even faster,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive, said.

“Together, we can use our collective scale to help decarbonise the economy and preserve Earth for future generations,” he added.

Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis. They implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions and other carbon emission elimination strategies. They pledge to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

In June last year, Amazon also rolled out a Climate Pledge Fund, with an initial funding of $2 billion to invest in sustainable technologies and services.

"Through our commitment to sustainability, we intend to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, those of our customers and suppliers, and of society as a whole," the Netherlands-based automation company Vanderlande's chief executive Remo Brunschwiler said.

“We are excited to be joining a community that will share knowledge, ideas, and best practices to address the most critical climate challenges,” he added.