Introduction
Amazon Incorporated is an American multinational corporation that offers services in several areas, including artificial intelligence, e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming. It is among the best information technology companies in the United States, and among the largest Fortune 500 service companies in terms of market capitalization. The company has an extensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) program that covers many areas. These include the environment, people, governance, and communities.
The company’s social responsibility report delves deeper into the most important aspects of its CSR program. The major areas highlighted in the report that have the most impact on the corporation include the environment, people, supply chain, and communities. The corporation is committed to building a sustainable business that serves its customers and benefits the planet.
Environment
Amazon’s strategies and objectives center with regard to the environment center on four main areas, namely sustainable operations, circular economy, packaging and products, and the cloud. The company’s main goal regarding sustainable operations is the measuring and reduction of carbon emissions in their operations around the globe (“All In” 20). This involves an evaluation of the impact of its direct and indirect operational activities on the climate and the development of carbon reduction goals. For instance, the company aims to attain net zero carbon in its operations across the world by 2040 (“All In” 21). Amazon’s commitment to The Climate Pledge will ensure that the company invests heavily in large-scale mitigation measures to lower its carbon footprint. The implementation of energy efficiency technologies has led to significant improvements in the carbon intensity of the corporation.
The company is working on using renewable energy to power its operations fully in order to attain net zero carbon by 2040. Currently, 42% of its operations utilize renewable energy (“All In” 23). A program labelled Shipment Zero aims to transform all shipments into net zero carbon operations. The sources targeted through this program include transportation tailpipe emissions, electricity emissions from different facilities, and discharges from the manufacturing and transportation of packaging materials (“All In” 23). Transportation is amazon’s major source of emissions. Therefore, its sustainable transportation strategy aims to optimize and transform its transportation network in order to enhance efficiency. For instance, it will involve the use of alternative delivery methods, the optimization of delivery logistics, and the deployment of electric cars. In 2019, the corporation placed an order of 100,000 electric cars from an American automobile manufacturer (“All In” 25). This will lower its carbon emissions significantly.
Sustainable buildings are part of the commitment to The Climate Pledge that aims to lower carbon emissions. Some of the buildings are powered by renewable energy and their construction utilizes technologies that will enhance their energy efficiency (“All In” 28). They adhere to green building standards and their operational facilities will have on-site solar installations. The circular economy strategy involves the promotion of recycling and the provision of reuse and repair options to customers. This ensures that the majority of materials used in its businesses are sent back into its operations loop. Recycling is conducted in several areas, including infrastructure, partnerships, and mailers (“All In” 30). The company is also redesigning packaging in order to reduce waste through the use of sustainable products and materials. The company’s cloud service, Amazon Web Services (AWS) aims to achieve 100% renewable energy usage in all its operations in order to protect the environment (“All In” 32). Examples of sustainability initiatives include cloud efficiency, reduction of water in its data centers (evaporative cooling, recycled water, and on-site water treatment), and the sustainability data initiative.
People
This area of sustainability has two key components: human rights and employees. The company is committed to treating its customers and other stakeholders with respect and dignity (“All In” 53). Moreover, they strive to ensure that their products are manufactured in a manner that preserves human rights. Amazon’s human rights strategy is founded on three key pillars, namely strong policies, embedding human rights into business operations, transparency and stakeholder engagement, and the implementation of risk management mechanisms. In 2019, the company created and executed Amazon’s Global Human Rights Principles, statutes that promote the need for human rights observance in all business activities (“All In” 54). They comprise human rights principles and supply chain standards that include expectations for suppliers. The principles are implemented in all aspects of the company. In the workplace, they promote diversity and inclusion, equal opportunity, and health and safety (“All In” 57). In the case of suppliers, they include collaboration, integration throughout the business, and continuous improvement.
Employees are an invaluable asset and they play a vital role in transforming Amazon into the most customer-centric organization. Workplace health and safety is an important component of enhancing sustainability and being a responsible company. The company aims to innovate and implement its technology capabilities in order to guarantee the health and safety of its employees, from software engineers to staff members who deliver packages (“All In” 60). Employees undergo coaching and ergonomic training in order to ensure that all operations are executed safely. In addition, leaders undertake frequent assessments that serve to verify and validate security protocols within the organization. In 2019, more than 1 million hours were spent in training employees on health and safety in the workplace (“All In” 61). Other safety measures include the Safety Leadership Index (SLI), WorkingWell, Mind and Body Moments, Safety Capital Investments, Powered Industrial Truck Technology, and Robotic Tech Vest (“All In” 62). Employees enjoy a wide range of benefits that include fertility treatment coverage, adoption assistance, financial counselling, estate planning, paid disability, and company-paid insurance.
Supply Chain and Community
Amazon is committed to maintaining law and observing ethics in all its business activities through safe workplaces, freely chosen employment, environmental protection, and responsible labor initiatives. For example, it only works with suppliers who respect human rights, promote environmental sustainability, and who create safe and inclusive working environments (“All In” 73). The company has a global team of employees who main role is to communicate their standards to stakeholders and assist them in creating workplaces that promote respect for human rights. They utilize a responsible approach to sourcing, and conduct risk as well as supplier assessments (“All In” 74). For instance, in 2019, they conducted 4,082 assessments in order to determine the suitability of the suppliers that they were planning to partner with. The company also conducts pre-production, verification, and ongoing assessments. The aforementioned evaluations generate data that is useful in determining the areas that need more investments. In 2019, Amazon increased investment in several areas, including women empowerment, wages and benefits, recruitment, supplier transparency, and health and safety.
The company enhances sustainability of communities by creating innovative programs that have long-lasting positive impacts, especially in underrepresented areas. This is attained by creating programs and collaborating with local organizations that address issues like hunger, housing, and education (“All In” 85). For example, the Computer Science and STEM Education are programs whose main objective is to increase access to computer science education (“All In” 86). The “Right Now Needs” program provides services that include access to basic needs (food, shelter, and clothing) and disaster relief. Disaster relief and response initiatives are effective due to the company’s innovative technologies and a vast logistics network.
Supply Chain Best Practice
Supplier assessment is one of the major best practices that are at the center of Amazon’s success with regard to its supply chain. The Responsible Sourcing Program aims at evaluating all Amazon-branded products and merchandises sold exclusively on their platform to ensure that they comply with certain standards (“All In” 73). Assessments include supplier due diligence and the implementation of measures that promote continuous improvement. The company is committed to working closely with suppliers in order to identify and correct issues that emerge within the supply chain, as well as establishing systems that avoid future calamities from occurring (“All In” 74). Suppliers are required to monitor and enforce company standards, making adjustments to meet organizational expectations. Private auditors conduct assessments in order to ensure that suppliers are compliant (“All In” 74). Compliance is also achieved through frequent interviews with employees and random on-site inspections. Pre-production and verification assessments are conducted on a regular basis.
Conclusion
Amazon’s CSR initiative involves a wide range of activities. It is founded on several areas, including environment, supply chain, employees, and communities. All the company operations are run in a manner that protects the environment, improves the health and safety of employees, improves communities, and enhances the effectiveness of the supply chain. Investment in employees through training and rewards is common practice at Amazon. The utilization of renewable energy, recycling, purchase of electric vehicles, and a commitment to The Climate Pledge are examples of ways in which the company promotes environmental sustainability.
Reference
“All In: Staying the Course on Our Commitment to Sustainability.” Amazon. n.d. Web.