Amazon just made it much easier to buy planet-friendly products
New York (CNN Business) Amazon wants to make it easier for its shoppers to go green.
The company labeled more than 25,000 of its products as "Climate Pledge Friendly," indicating that each of those products align with Amazon's "Climate Pledge," a commitment to having a net-zero carbon footprint by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Amazon has a sharp focus on products that reduce the carbon footprint of shipments to customers.
Amazon (AMZN) has some ground to make up. As of right now, shopping in a physical store is a more eco-conscious choice than shopping online, according to a report from Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society.
In the study, researchers estimated that shopping at brick-and-mortar stores for frequently bought items -- such as toilet paper, shampoo and toothpaste -- often results in less greenhouse gas emissions than ordering products that are only sold online. Additionally, many consumers buy items online frequently -- but they only buy a few items at a time, creating more waste per purchase. And faster shipping comes with an increase in emissions.
To mitigate this, Amazon partnered with 19 government agencies, nonprofits and independent labs for its initiative, working together to create the list of sustainable products. Each "climate pledge friendly" product has a certification from at least one of those groups.
You can search for Amazon's "Climate Pledge Friendly" products by category on the website, and the items are clearly labeled in shopping results. Additional information about sustainability will be available on each of the product pages.
The selection of items includes groceries, household products, fashion products, beauty products and personal electronics. Seventh Generation, Burt's Bees Baby and HP are among the brands involved in this initiative.
Amazon is also working to make packaging more efficient and reduce carbon emissions with its Compact by Design initiative. This process includes using less physical packaging, air and water in containers to create more environmentally efficient shipping. The tech company is also focusing on waterless technology. An example: turning a water-based product like shampoo into a solid shampoo bar.
In 2019, Amazon announced that it would buy 100,000 electric vans as part of broader climate pledge. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also committed to meeting the Paris climate agreement 10 years early, which would make the company carbon neutral by 2040.
