Inside Amazon's Supply Chain Carbon Credit Hub

Amazon has expanded its Sustainability Exchange platform with new carbon credit options designed to help businesses tackle emissions across their supply chains.

The ecommerce giant is now offering lower-carbon fuel and refrigerant destruction credits to qualified companies, providing supply chain partners with additional tools to accelerate their net zero ambitions.

The move could signal growing recognition that decarbonisation requires coordinated action across entire value chains.

According to Amazon, no organisation can reach net zero carbon emissions goals in isolation. Since launching the Sustainability Exchange in 2024, the company has doubled available resources and broadened its offerings specifically to help businesses within its supply chain ecosystem advance climate action.

Addressing fuel supply constraints

Lower-carbon fuels such as renewable diesel and biodiesel could play a crucial role in reducing transportation sector emissions, yet supply constraints and shared infrastructure with conventional fuels often limit access for logistics providers.

Amazon's new lower-carbon fuel inset credits are designed to address this challenge by channelling investment into fuel production, even when companies cannot physically source these fuels for their operations.

Through environmental attribute certificates tied to a company's value chain, organisations can support the growth of lower-carbon fuel production whilst accounting for equivalent emissions reductions. Qualified companies can now purchase high-quality renewable diesel and biodiesel credits made from waste-based feedstocks through Amazon's Sustainability Exchange.

Crane Worldwide Logistics has begun using Amazon's carbon credit service to integrate lower-carbon fuel insets into its climate strategy, helping drive demand for emissions reductions in sectors critical to supply chain operations.

Carlos Pacheco, Global Director, Sustainability at Crane Worldwide Logistics, says: "By partnering with Amazon on their carbon insets programme, we are confident that we are contributing to demand for real and efficient carbon reductions in sectors that matter to our business."

Amazon has indicated that lower-carbon maritime fuel credits are expected to be added to the offering, which could provide further decarbonisation options for global supply chain operators.

Targeting high-impact refrigerant emissions

Superpollutants, gases with disproportionately high global warming potential, such as methane and refrigerants have a significantly higher warming impact than CO₂, making their reduction particularly urgent for climate action. Although many of these gases were phased out under the Montreal Protocol, millions of tonnes remain in ageing equipment and stockpiles throughout supply chains.

Preventing their release could deliver near-term climate benefits whilst supporting long-term decarbonisation goals. Qualified companies can now purchase high-quality credits that fund the safe destruction of refrigerants through Amazon's carbon credit service.

These neutralisation credits enable organisations to address emissions beyond their direct operations, offering supply chain businesses a mechanism to tackle legacy emissions from cooling and refrigeration equipment.

Building carbon credit strategies

Amazon's carbon credit service aims to help companies participate in the voluntary carbon market with greater confidence. Developing a carbon credit strategy, whether focused on neutralisation credits, inset credits or both, could become more effective as organisations build experience and scale their investments over time.

Several companies across professional services, electronics and real estate are advancing their decarbonisation journeys through the service. Many are signatories of The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 that has grown to include more than 630 companies worldwide since its founding in 2019.

In 2023, Amazon signed an agreement with renewable fuels technology company Infinium to begin powering Amazon's transportation fleet with ultra-low carbon electrofuels, demonstrating how the company is applying decarbonisation solutions across its own supply chain operations.