Verizon among companies joining Amazon in Climate Pledge
Verizon, Infosys, and CPG manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser (RB) are all joining Amazon in pledging to be net zero carbon by 2040.
The companies are signing the Climate Pledge, an initiative co-founded by Amazon in September 2019 that commits to meeting the Paris Agreement 2050 decarbonization goal 10 years early. Verizon is on track to be carbon neutral across scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2035 and has issued a $1 billion green bond to invest in innovative solutions to accelerate the company’s sustainability efforts. This includes powering operations with 50% renewable energy by 2025 and new virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA) for more than 380 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar power capacity.
RB is reducing carbon emissions from its sites by 65% and will power operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2030, with the ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Since 2012 RB has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in manufacturing by 42% and reducing water usage by 37%.
Infosys made a voluntary commitment in 2011 to become carbon-neutral and is on track to achieve it ahead of 2040. Infosys has already invested in 60 MW of captive solar PV capacity, nearly 45% of its electricity is coming from renewable sources, and is committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy. It also has an energy efficiency program that helped the company reduce its per-capita electricity consumption by 55% since 2008.
As part of its path to climate neutrality, Infosys has made investments to a portfolio of community-based emission reduction projects to help meet its net zero carbon goal.
In other initiatives to promote climate neutrality, Amazon is joining the Science Based Target Initative (SBTi), which mobilizes companies to set science-based targets and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).