Amazon cuts per-unit carbon intensity 39% by 2025 with targeted metrics
Emissions per package shipped dropped every year since 2019 — here's how they measure it.
Amazon tracks carbon intensity with sector-specific metrics, starting with emissions per unit shipped for its retail operations. The company reduced this metric by 39% from 2019 through the end of 2025, driven by investments in carbon-free energy, smarter routing, lighter packaging, low-carbon fuels, alternative transportation, and electric vehicles. In its 2025 reporting, Amazon updated its economic carbon intensity indicator from grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per dollar of gross merchandise sales (gCO2e/$GMS) to grams per dollar of revenue (gCO2e/$Revenue) for better industry comparability, a change that does not affect its year-over-year trajectory. Amazon aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.
- Amazon reduced carbon intensity per unit shipped by 39% from 2019 to 2025, using investments in electric vehicles, carbon-free energy, and smarter routing.
- The company tracks emissions per unit shipped at regional and country levels to tailor decarbonization interventions across its logistics network.
- Amazon updated its economic intensity metric from gCO2e/$GMS to gCO2e/$Revenue to align with industry standards and improve comparability.
Why It Matters
Amazon's tailored carbon intensity metrics set a benchmark for decoupling growth from emissions across diverse industries.