Decarbonisation report shows Amazon, other major shippers falling short

Progress reports from Ship It Zero

IKEA: Not much change

IKEA has taken concrete action to decarbonise its maritime shipping logistics operations in recent years. IKEA earned a B+ on the 2023 decarbonisation report card and was the highest scoring company overall. Although IKEA has made headway since the release of the 2023 report card, IKEA needs to do more to show its actions match its proclaimed ambitions. Bottom line: IKEA must work with its peers to invest in the research and development of zero-emissions fuels and negotiate with carriers to have its goods transported on shore power-equipped ships. It is time for IKEA to step up and lead the way to zero-emissions shipping. 

Home Depot: At risk of failure

As the largest retailer in the home improvement sector (in the United States), Home Depot holds the market-shaping power to transform the industry’s maritime shipping operations from polluting fossil fuels to zero-emissions operations. Home Depot received an ’F’ on the 2023 decarbonisation report card. Bottom line: there have not been many public indicators Home Depot is invested in long-term partnerships that help move zero-emissions maritime shipping forward. Home Depot has not joined the Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Shipping (coZEV) initiative, or the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA). These two spaces are designed for the purpose of bringing companies together to innovate and invest in solutions for the reduction of maritime shipping emissions. Home Depot’s absence from these initiatives demonstrates a concerning lack of commitment to investing in zero-emissions maritime shipping solutions and to mobilising its industry peers to raise climate ambitions. 

LG: At risk of failure

LG has failed to publicly show it can be a corporate leader in reducing the climate emissions of shipping those products we use daily. In Ship It Zero’s 2023 decarbonisation report card, LG received an ’F’ and it received only 18.75 points out of 100, one of the worst among the 28 companies graded. Bottom line: as one of the largest electronics retailers in the world – it should join the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), which helps establish international standards for setting greenhouse gas reduction targets. We think it is also important for LG to pursue partnering with organisations like the coZEV initiative and/or ZEMBA, both of which promote opportunities for companies to collectively work toward solutions that advance zero-emissions maritime shipping.

Samsung: At risk of failure

As a company that shipped 226M smartphones in 2023, Samsung’s track record on climate and leadership on clean maritime shipping has been disappointing. On the 2023 decarbonisation report card, Samsung received an ’F.’ Bottom line: Samsung has not joined initiatives like the SBTi, which would help ensure Samsung’s commitments are aligned with international standards for setting greenhouse gas emissions-reduction targets. Samsung also hasn’t joined some of the other big companies that ship electronics and appliances in spaces like the coZEV initiative, or ZEMBA, which provide opportunities for companies to collaborate and leverage collective power to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions maritime shipping.

Amazon: At risk of failure

Amazon is not using its full sphere of influence and resources to take steps to achieve zero-emissions maritime shipping in accordance with its purported commitment. The unfortunate reality is that from 2019 to 2023, Amazon’s maritime emissions actually saw a 26% increase. Its pledge to reach net zero by 2040 is not aligned with science-based targets... and it has failed to disclose a roadmap that demonstrates how it will even reach this goal. In 2023, Amazon earned a ’D’ on Ship It Zero’s inaugural decarbonisation report card. Bottom line: Since the 2023 report card, the Ship It Zero campaign’s continued updated research shows: (1) the trajectory of Amazon’s maritime shipping emissions over the last five years has increased (2) interim actions Amazon has adopted toward zero-emissions shipping are more akin to greenwashing than comprehensive climate action; (3) Amazon has failed to take leadership despite its market share and industry influence; and (4) the retailer has failed to commit to a plan that would meet a 1.5°C trajectory, a critical threshold defined by climate scientists to avert irreversible climate damage, defined in the Paris Agreement for maritime shipping.

"In the near term, the report concludes Amazon should commit to zero-emissions deliveries in the last mile and maritime sectors. Amazon also must show a verifiable roadmap to zero-emissions shipping in heavy-duty trucking by 2035 and aviation by 2040, and it must commit to putting its goods on zero-emissions maritime ships by 2030. If the company fails to take these steps, it will put our climate and communities in peril during the remaining years of this critical decade," Ship It Zero said.

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