On July 2, 2024 members of Inland Action met with Teresa Christopher, Head of Sustainability Policy for Amazon. She leads the sustainability, climate, environment, and energy policy team. Christopher has worked with State, local, and tribal officials, Congress, foreign governments, multi-lateral organizations, businesses, NGOs, and other stakeholders to develop and implement domestic and international policies. Christopher served in the Obama Administration for 8 years holding several senior posts, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Amazon is committed to sustainability and made a climate pledge in 2019 to be net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Decarbonizing every sector of their operations is complex and challenging. Thay have asked other companies to join them and now have over 500 signatories in more than 45 countries. Many of these companies are small but others include Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and MasterCard, that create a community working towards climate solutions.
Amazon has also committed to 100% renewables across their operations by 2030 but are on a path to accomplish this by 2025. They are the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for the 4th year running. They purchase from over 500 solar and wind projects around the world with over 200 of them in the U.S. of which 50 are in California. They have invested and launched their Climate Pledge Fund that invests in early stage start up technology. The $2B fund has already invested in 26 companies from green hydrogen development, low carb concrete, electric aviation, agricultural advancements, carbon free ammonia and more.
Amazon’s recently launched Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks in the SCAQMD basin. This initiative includes:
- 47 electric trucks–Amazon’s largest fleet anywhere in the world
- Class 8 Volvo trucks with range of 275 miles
- Equipped with safety features, significantly lower noise levels, and ergonomic cab design
- 12 trucks for drayage operations at Ports
- 35 trucks middle mile operations
- Based at facilities in San Bernardino, Rialto, Redlands, Fontana, Eastvale, Riverside