In a significant development, Amazon has announced the expansion of its collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an international charity dedicated to promoting a circular economy. As a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network, Amazon intends to leverage its extensive reach, technological prowess, and innovative capabilities, alongside the Foundation’s expertise, to introduce and scale solutions for a circular economy.
A circular economy plays a crucial role in addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation focuses on establishing a circular economy driven by design principles, aiming to eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in circulation at their highest value, and regenerate nature.
Sustainability holds a central place in Amazon’s agenda, and this commitment is reflected in initiatives like The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon in 2019, which aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Embracing a circular economy is vital for Amazon to accomplish this ambitious goal and is a priority across all aspects of the company’s operations, spanning from packaging to products to data centers.
Certifications for products with circular attributes will be a key area of focus in the expanded collaboration. Amazon, in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is working alongside two certification organizations: the NSF, known for developing public health standards and services that protect the environment, and SCS Global (International and Scientific Certification Systems Global).
The objective is to establish robust third-party certifications that recognize essential circular attributes of products and incentivize intentional design that supports circularity. These certifications aim to provide customers with the necessary information to make more circular choices. Moreover, they encourage brands, original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and e-commerce platforms to create products aligned with circular economy principles.
One example of such certification is the Recycled Content Standard for Electrical and Electronic Equipment, an extension to SCS Global’s widely adopted Recycled Content Standard. This certification verifies the percentage of recycled materials in these products against minimum thresholds, considering both material input and specific product type. Products seeking certification must also incorporate more than one recycled material input, promoting the use of diverse recycled materials.
The intention is for these certifications to be eligible for inclusion in Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly Program, which aids customers in identifying more sustainable products through sustainability labeling. Amazon, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will continue exploring circularity certifications and advocate for their adoption to establish industrywide standards.
Additionally, the Foundation’s Plastics Initiative is working on scaling returnable packaging systems in collaboration with reuse partners and experts. Amazon and AWS Global Impact Computing Teams will provide support by employing future visualization and analytical modeling to demonstrate the economic, environmental, and experiential benefits of scaled reuse systems compared to single-use packaging.
Rich Loretto, Director of Circular Economy at Amazon, emphasized the importance of circular economy initiatives in achieving their Climate Pledge goal and acknowledged the essential role of industry standards and collaboration. Loretto expressed the value of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s guidance and stressed the potential impact of their initiatives across the industry.
Joe Murphy, Executive Lead for Network at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, conveyed excitement regarding the collaboration with Amazon, citing the company’s influence, capacity for innovation, and scalability as crucial factors in driving transformative change. Murphy expressed enthusiasm for supporting Amazon’s circular economy journey through their long-term collaboration.
Collaboration, adoption, and scale are essential for the success of circular economy initiatives. Amazon looks forward to bringing together fellow Climate Pledge signatories with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to foster idea-sharing and joint action. The U.S. Department of Energy is hosting an initial workshop focused on transitioning to a circular economy for plastics, with Climate Pledge signatories, over 100 academics, NGOs, and other companies participating to share ideas, research, and opportunities.