Amazon Nixed ‘Green’ Shipping Proposal to Avoid Alienating Shoppers
The company’s climate pledge is colliding with its core mission of giving customers what they want, when they want it.
Amazon delivery vans
Photographer: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A few years ago, Amazon.com Inc.’s quick delivery team debated doing something radical for the e-commerce giant: asking shoppers to consider the environment.
The team building Amazon’s Prime Now same-day delivery service knew that the quickest delivery options tended to be the worst for the planet. A guaranteed one-hour delivery window sometimes meant sending couriers in mostly empty vehicles darting to far-flung neighborhoods, all the while emitting roughly the same greenhouse gas emissions as a fully loaded truck or van. Someone on the team proposed showing customers a “Green” shopping delivery option, a slightly slower delivery speed designed to give Amazon more time to cluster orders together and send out densely packed vehicles, saving on fuel, driver salaries and carbon emissions.