Amazon's latest sustainability report faces internal criticism for using renewable energy certificates of questionable quality and is suspected of greenwashing. (Photo: Amazon)
Amazon has released the 2023 Sustainability Report, highlighting a significant milestone of achieving 100% renewable energy use, seven years ahead of its 2030 target. However, this achievement has been met with skepticism from within the company.
Employees have raised concerns about the authenticity of Amazon's green energy claims, accusing the company of "greenwashing" by using renewable energy certificates (RECs) with questionable environmental benefits. Additionally, there are worries that the expansion of Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers could lead to a surge in carbon emissions.
Heavy reliance on low-quality RECs
Amazon boasts of investing in over 500 wind and solar projects worldwide, worth billions of dollars. These projects are meant to power Amazon's data centers, office buildings, retail stores, and logistics centers in 27 countries, equating to the energy use of approximately 7.6 million households. For the fourth consecutive year, Amazon claims the title of the world's largest purchaser of renewable energy.
However, Amazon's assertion of using 100% renewable energy does not mean that all its operations are directly powered by renewable sources. Instead, the company purchases an equivalent amount of renewable energy and feeds it into the public grid, acquiring Renewable Energy Credits or Renewable Energy Certificates in the process. This method allows them to match their energy consumption with renewable energy production.
According to a report by RECCESSARY, this approach, known as unbundled RECs, offers lower additionality, meaning there is a higher risk of overestimating or double-counting the environmental benefits.
