Amazon is launching a $2 billion internal venture-capital fund focused on technology investments to reduce the impact of climate change. This is the latest sustainability initiative from the technology giant after criticism of its environmental record.
The fund, which will be run by the company’s internal sustainability team and aided by Amazon’s corporate development group, will have a mandate to back technologies being developed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for a warming planet
The new fund, which will be called The Climate Pledge Fund, will invest in companies across a number of industries, including transportation, energy generation, battery storage, manufacturing, and food and agriculture, according to the company. The aim is to help Amazon and other companies reach a goal of “net zero” carbon emissions by 2040. Amazon and a number of other companies are seeking to reduce the climate impact of their operations, both through reduced use of fossil fuels and investments in projects such as reforestation.
Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, under pressure from employee and outside activists, last year unveiled a Climate Pledge committing his company to meet the goals of the landmark Paris climate agreement 10 years early.
On Tuesday, Amazon also announced a more aggressive schedule to power its operations with renewable energy sources -- moving forward the deadline by five years to 2025. The company retained its original commitment to be carbon neutral by 2040.
The company timed the announcements to coincide with the release of an annual sustainability report, the first since Amazon disclosed its carbon footprint and set out its sustainability goals in September. A spokesman declined to share a copy of the latest report ahead of its release.
Amazon last week announced the first signatories to what it calls the Climate Pledge, an open invitation for other companies to match Amazon’s ambitions to eliminate or offset their carbon emissions by 2040.
