Amazon has announced a new fund dubbed The Climate Pledge Fund that aims to support the development of sustainable technologies and services that will help it and other firms become net zero by the year 2040. The investment programme will begin with an initial $2 billion in funding and will go to companies developing solutions to meeting the climate goals.
Commenting on the new initiative, Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, said:
“The Climate Pledge Fund will look to invest in the visionary entrepreneurs and innovators who are building products and services to help companies reduce their carbon impact and operate more sustainably. Companies from around the world of all sizes and stages will be considered, from pre-product startups to well-established enterprises. Each prospective investment will be judged on its potential to accelerate the path to zero carbon and help protect the planet for future generations.”
According to the shopping giant, The Climate Pledge Fund is not only going to invest in companies in the technology space. It will also invest in sectors such as transportation and logistics, energy generation, storage and utilisation, manufacturing and materials, the circular economy, and food and agriculture.
Despite its overall goal of being net zero by 2040, the firm has announced that it’s on course to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. In its consumer-facing operations since 2015, Amazon has also reduced the weight of packaging by 33% and eliminated 880,000 tonnes of packaging materials.