The health of our planet is something we care deeply about. Last year, Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge—a commitment to be net zero carbon across our business by 2040. Since then, we've made good progress, but we're not slowing down. We continue to invent more sustainable solutions across all areas of our business, including Devices & Services.
How we're helping customers reduce their impact on the environment
Until now, when many companies thought about how to make products more sustainable, they focused on two phases: when the product is built and how it is disposed. But we've challenged ourselves to think differently—we believe we should focus on the energy usage of these devices once they’re in your home. On average, more than half of the total carbon footprint of Devices comes from when the devices are actually in use. And that's why we don’t just want to reduce our own impact on the environment, we want to help our customers do so as well.
We're excited to announce that we are the first consumer electronics company to commit to addressing the use phase of our devices through renewable energy investments. We are building new wind and solar farms to produce clean energy equivalent to the electricity used by every customer's Echo device. We are building our first Devices wind and solar farms in the U.S., and we have a bold goal to continue building new renewable energy projects until we account for the energy consumption of all Amazon devices.
In addition, we are working hard to make our devices energy efficient because it's good for the planet and our customers. That's why we've added a Low Power Mode feature to all new wall-powered Echo and Fire TV devices that reduces their lifetime energy consumption by using less power during periods of inactivity. We'll also be rolling out free over-the-air updates to bring Low Power Mode to additional devices already in customers' homes.
Finally, later this year, we're introducing a new energy dashboard that will allow U.S. customers to understand the energy consumption of compatible Echo and Alexa-connected smart home devices in the Alexa app. Customers can also enable Alexa to help them conserve energy. For example, if Alexa has a Hunch that a customer is away and forgot to turn off a light, Alexa can automatically turn it off—helping you save energy without even thinking about it. You can also learn about Alexa Routines that might save energy—like turning the kitchen light off after midnight.
Other ways we're making our devices more sustainable
All Echo and Fire TV devices launched following this announcement will include 100% post-consumer recycled fabric, 100% recycled die-cast aluminum, and 30-50% post-consumer recycled plastic depending on the product. We have even incorporated 50% post-consumer recycled plastic into certain power adapters shipping with our devices. In fact, the recycled materials used in our devices launching in 2020 could fill over 800 garbage trucks worth of plastics, fabrics, and aluminum.
Going forward, we are working to source 100% of the wood fiber in device packaging from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources. We are also reducing waste, eliminating over 27 million plastic bags from our device packaging in 2020 alone. The packaging for the Echo and Fire TV devices are made from more than 97% wood fiber based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.
We also have existing programs—like the Amazon Recycling, Devices Pre-Owned, and Trade-In programs or our frustration-free packaging program—that address the beginning and end of our products' lifecycles. The frustration-free packaging program alone has eliminated more than 900,000 tons of materials from landfills.
Climate Pledge Friendly
Echo and Fire TV devices will be among the first products to receive the Climate Pledge Friendly badge on Amazon.com as part of a new program that makes it easier for customers to identify and shop for sustainable products. All Echo and Fire TV devices are certified by the Carbon Trust and will carry its "Reducing CO2" Product Carbon Footprint Label, a certification that demonstrates a reduction in the carbon footprint of products, year-over-year. This is measured by creating a life cycle assessment for both the current product and its prior generation (or prior year) baseline, and assessing the greenhouse gas emissions for each. This certification rewards our de-carbonization efforts in line with The Climate Pledge. For more information, click here.
What's next
Climate change isn't something one company can solve alone. We are thrilled to see others' momentum, and we will continue to invent in this area. Learn more about what we're doing here.
