Transportation

We’re decarbonizing transportation across our business by increasing fleet efficiency, expanding the use of low-carbon fuels, and scaling electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. We also partner on initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the wider transportation industry, and engage with policymakers and other decision-makers to advance policies in support of decarbonization.

An Amazon delivery driver walks a package to a customer's front door while the Rivian delivery vehicle is parked on the street.
An Amazon delivery driver walks a package to a customer's front door while the Rivian delivery vehicle is parked on the street.
An Amazon delivery driver walks a package to a customer's front door while the Rivian delivery vehicle is parked on the street.
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OUR PROGRESS
By the Numbers
145 million
More than 145 million packages delivered to customers using electric vehicles across the U.S. and Europe in 2022
€1 billion
Investing €1 billion to double our European zero-emissions fleet over the next five years
100,000
Ordered 100,000 custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian—the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles
Our Approach
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We rely on a complex transportation network to get products from manufacturers and sellers to customers around the globe. Our logistics network spans every step of the journey—from global transportation between factories and ports, to last mile delivery between delivery stations and customers. We’re focused on decarbonizing our transportation network across each of these segments.

Inbound Transportation

Inbound transportation refers to the first transportation leg, used for transporting shipments across international borders. For this segment, we rely on transportation by road, rail, air, and water. We’re increasing the use of ocean freight for transoceanic transportation, and reducing airfreight when possible. Ocean transportation has a lower carbon intensity than air transportation, and we continue to reduce the emissions related to ocean freight through the use of biofuels.

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First Movers Coalition
We’re a founding private sector member of the First Movers Coalition to lead decarbonization of the maritime shipping industry. The coalition brings global companies together to leverage their purchasing power and send a demand signal for innovative clean energy technologies that can help tackle the climate crisis. With this launch, we announced our commitment to use ships with zero-emission fuels for at least 10% of the volume of our goods shipped internationally by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

Middle Mile

Middle mile transportation is how we move shipments between Amazon facilities. It generally starts when packages arrive at an Amazon facility, and spans the journey between fulfillment centers, sort centers, and delivery stations.

Two Electric Middle Mile Trucks

While some trips may be completed by air or train freight, middle mile transportation is usually completed by truck. Trucking is a challenging area to decarbonize, particularly considering long-haul distances and the requirements for high-power electric charging infrastructure across transportation routes.

Where there is currently no single solution that can be scaled for decarbonizing middle mile trucking, we’re experimenting with lower-carbon options such as trucks powered by renewable natural gas, battery-electric trucks, and hydrogen-powered trucks.

SPOTLIGHT
Using Low-Carbon Electrofuels in Middle Mile Transport
We’re working with renewable fuels technology company Infinium to begin powering our middle mile transportation fleet with ultra-low-carbon electrofuels beginning in 2023. Electrofuels are an alternative to fossil-based fuels, created with carbon waste and renewable power. Infinium is expected to initially supply enough electrofuels to begin powering Amazon trucks in place of diesel fuel for approximately 5 million miles of travel per year.

We previously invested in Infinium through The Climate Pledge Fund, our $2 billion venture investment program that invests in companies building technologies, products, and services that can help accelerate the path toward a net-zero carbon future.
Last Mile

Last-mile transportation covers the final part of the journey, when products are transported from a post office or delivery station to the customer.

We’re working to decarbonize our own last-mile fleet by utilizing lower-emission options, including electric delivery vehicles, electric cargo bikes, and on-foot deliveries.

In 2019, we ordered 100,000 custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian—the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles. We rolled out the first of these vehicles in 2021 and plan to deploy all remaining vehicles by 2030. We’ve also deployed thousands of electric vehicles, including delivery vans, e-cargo bikes, and e-rickshaws, across Europe and India. In 2022, we announced plans to invest €1 billion to double our European zero-emissions fleet for middle- and last-mile deliveries over the next five years.

Our Progress
Our custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian are on the road making deliveries in more than 800 cities and regions across the country, including Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Grand Rapids, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Madison, Nashville, New York, Newark, Oakland, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Provo, Rochester, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, and Toledo.

SPOTLIGHT
Mitigating Emissions With Micromobility Solutions
Micromobility hubs are smaller, centrally-located delivery stations. In dense cities, these hubs enable us to operate non-traditional delivery methods, such as e-cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries, to bring packages to customers more sustainably.

In Europe, we have launched micromobility hubs in 33 cities to enable shorter deliveries on foot or by e-bike. In the UK specifically, we launched e-bikes in Manchester and London. Similar hubs have been installed across France and Italy, with further micromobility solutions planned.

In the U.S., we use micromobility solutions to deliver grocery orders in New York City. In 2022 alone, we delivered more than 1.6 million orders (over 9.1 million packages) to local customers on foot or by e-bike.
Partnering for Decarbonized Transportation

Decarbonizing our transportation network will require cross-company partnerships, which is why we seek to participate in multi-stakeholder initiatives to shift the industry toward lower-carbon solutions. We leverage two engagement platforms: the Sustainable Freight Buyers Alliance (SFBA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) International Transport Forum.

In 2022, we signed a grant to the Smart Freight Centre with a focus on identifying and building partnerships that can accelerate transportation decarbonization. We also play an active role in several industry initiatives and government partnerships, including the Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) network, the First Movers Coalition, and the Clean Energy Demand Initiative.

Learn more about how we are collaborating with others across the transportation industry.

Air

Airfreight is one of the modes of transportation we use, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one solution for reducing associated lifecycle emissions. However, SAF is still cost prohibitive, representing less than 0.1% of global aviation fuel. During the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) announced a digital SAF certificate registry that aims to increase transparency for emissions reduction claims and accelerate SAF deployment. As a founding member of SABA, Amazon played a key role in developing the registry, which is slated to launch later in 2023.

Ocean

To reduce our ocean freight-related transportation emissions, ships used to transport goods must transition to using zero-emission fuels. In early 2023, we co-founded the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) together with the Aspen Institute, Patagonia, and Tchibo. Through ZEMBA, freight buyers will accelerate the commercial deployment of zero-emission shipping, enable economies of scale, and minimize maritime emissions, helping to get zero-emission ships on the water by the mid-2020s.

Land

Heavy-duty truck freight is another key, yet emissions-intensive, component of most delivery networks, and we are working to decarbonize through scaling the use of electric vehicles. In December 2022, we co-founded SFBA, a group committed to decarbonizing freight operations. Members are working to increase demand for medium- and heavy-duty battery electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as align on models for fleet electrification.

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