Amazon Reports Significant Drop in Plastic Use as Sought in Shareholder Proposals Filed by As You Sow
Company follows Walmart in phasing out plastic e-commerce mailers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Sophia Wilson, [email protected], (341) 600-1832
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—JULY 20, 2023—Amazon reported on Tuesday a significant drop in plastic use last year and will phase out plastic mailers, actions sought by As You Sow in dialogue and through the filing of shareholder proposals over the last three years.
In 2022, Amazon used 85,916 metric tons of single-use plastic to ship orders to customers, an 11.6% decrease from 97,222 metric tons in 2021, the company stated in its sustainability report released on Tuesday.
Since 2021, As You Sow filed shareholder proposals with the company asking it to reduce plastic packaging use in alignment with Breaking the Plastic Wave, a landmark study by Pew Charitable Trusts, which concluded that plastic demand should be reduced by at least one-third to cut ocean plastic pollution 80% by 2040. A 2022 proposal received the support of a near majority of shareholders (49%). As You Sow asked Amazon to match progress made by peers Walmart and Target that made public commitments to reduce use of virgin plastic by significant amounts by 2025.
“Cutting plastic use by 11% and phasing out plastic mailers represent significant achievements by Amazon towards meeting reduction goals set out in the Pew report that will lead to less plastic waste,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow. “We are pleased the company has heard the strong voice of shareholders on this issue and responded. We hope the company will commit to a defined set of future reduction goals as well.”
Last month, nearly one-third of shareholders voted in support of As You Sow’s proposal at Amazon for a plastic packaging reduction goal. That level of support was significant given that Amazon lagged competitor Walmart, which had recently committed to phase out use of plastic e-commerce mailers in the U.S.
The reductions, while welcome, do not yet reflect a commitment to reduce a specific amount of future plastic use over a set time period as its competitors have done. The company needs to make an explicit future commitment for overall reduction of plastic use and to set a date for the phaseout of all plastic mailers, which was not included in Tuesday’s disclosure.
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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder advocacy nonprofit, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here for As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.