Although Amazon is billed as a US flagship company of the “green tech” era, the company emits more C02 emissions than many states (more precisely, more than 120 of the 193 countries in the world). Unsurprisingly, workers organizing within and against Amazon are incorporating a discourse on environmental issues into their agenda. The global Make Amazon Pay campaign, for example, finds clear words, demanding that Amazon pay and treat its workers fairly and stop business practices that harm society and the environment.
Among other things, the campaign calls for: “Commitment to zero emissions by 2030; Terminating all custom Amazon Web Services contracts with fossil fuel companies to accelerate oil and gas production; ending Amazon’s complicity in environmental racism, including transitioning to electric vehicles first in communities most affected by the company’s pollution; ending all promotion of climate change denial; Involvement of workers, who have a right to know how their employer will operate sustainably, through a Just Transition process.”
Nor is it surprising that Amazon is investing in its own climate and environmental discourse. Under the keyword “Sustainability”, “our path to net zero carbon” is being promoted from “green” supply chains to “green” fulfillment centers and “green” data centers. The definition of this path is as vague and open as the attitude towards the framework set out by the state for it is non-binding: “There are a lot of different ideas for what the Green New Deal is, and it’s probably too broad to say too much about that in particular” , as Jeff Bezos once explained.
Amazon is not meant to be just a “green” company, but to be the global leader in the post-carbon market. This claim is confirmed by headlines such as “How Amazon Became the Largest Buyer of Renewable Energy in the World” or speculation such as “Inflation Reduction Act could boost climate efforts at Amazon” and reports on the Bezos Earth Fund. News about a workforce that is committed to the “green” cause also fits into the picture and even gives the whole thing a democratic touch: Are the workers fighting for the climate not helping to ensure that the “green” company agenda is participatory and im consensus process arises?