E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) has recently made a number of significant changes to its shipping policies.
For example, customers who had grown accustomed to using UPS (UPS) stores to return Amazon packages found out in April they would be charged a fee.
DON'T MISS: Amazon Shipping Change Charges Customers For a Service That Used to be Free
The one-dollar charge was implemented when certain orders were returned via UPS when they could have been return to a Whole Foods, Kohl's or Amazon Fresh location.
In May, Amazon sent $10 discounts for orders of $25 or more to some Prime subscribers that were willing to pick their orders up from select locations rather than have them delivered straight to their residences.
Now, an Amazon shipping policy is being changed with regard to a zero-emissions goal it had stated was an objective by 2030.
It is rolling the shipping goal, previously set for 2030, into its company-wide net-zero carbon goal, called Climate Pledge, for 2040.
"As we examined our work toward The Climate Pledge, we realized that it no longer made sense to have a separate and more narrow Shipment Zero goal that applied to only one part of our business, so we’ve decided to eliminate it," Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon further explained its change of mind on the matter.
We set Shipment Zero as a goal before we announced our commitment to The Climate Pledge, which is a more comprehensive effort to drive innovation and decarbonization efforts across our entire business.
We remain focused on The Climate Pledge and our goal to reach net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040 -- this includes working towards powering our operations with 100% renewable energy, transforming and decarbonizing our transportation network with electric vehicles and alternative fuels, using more sustainable building materials, and reducing packaging waste, among other areas.
An Amazon spokesperson said the change reflected in the statement was not an indication the company was not working toward the earlier goals.
"Nothing has changed in our commitment to decarbonize our operations," the spokesperson said, according to Fast Company.
Eric Leveridge, corporate climate campaign manager for the nonprofit organization Pacific Environment, said the change in policy was a cause for unease.
"I can’t speak to their reasoning, but the fact that this commitment was quietly deleted from their website and had to be unearthed by a reporter who had previously reported on Amazon underestimating their carbon footprint, is concerning," Leveridge said, according to Fast Company.
Leveridge was referring to a claim in a 2022 story in Reveal that Amazon engaged in manipulation of statistics when comparing its carbon emissions data with that of other companies.
For example, for all the packs of Pampers parents grab off the shelf at Target, the big-box retailer tallies the emissions that go into making those diapers as part of its carbon footprint. And when customers order Samsung TVs on Target.com, the company tacks on not only the carbon that went into making them, but also the emissions that will end up in the atmosphere when people plug in and use them.
But when shoppers click "Buy Now" on those same products on Amazon, the nation’s largest online retailer doesn’t count those carbon emissions. Amazon takes responsibility for the full climate impact only of products with an Amazon brand label, which make up about 1% of its online sales.
Amazon has not yet replied to a request for comment. This story will be updated if and when the company has a statement on the matter.
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