Amazon’s carbon emissions rose 18% in 2021

Amazon’s carbon emissions jumped 18% last year, as the company ramped up it business to meet the demand boosted by the pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce.

In its annual sustainability report issued Monday, Amazon said its activities emitted the equivalent of 71.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2021, 18% from 2020, and an increase of nearly 40% from 2019.

Net sales surged nearly 22% in 2021 to $469.8 billion, contributing to a slower decline in carbon intensity, a measure of emissions per dollar of sales. Amazon lowered that score to a 1.9% decline in 2021 compared with a 16% decline in 2020.

“As companies invest in new products and services, and their businesses grow substantially, the focus should not be solely on a company’s carbon footprint in terms of absolute carbon emissions, but also on whether it’s lowering its carbon intensity,” reads Amazon’s 2021 Sustainability Report.