Amazon Unveils Plan for $2 Billion Green Tech Venture-Capital Fund
Amazon.com unveiled the Climate Pledge fund, a pool of $2 billion targeted at investing in companies working on “sustainable technologies and services” that will help the e-commerce giant and others to become carbon neutral by 2040.
Amazon said the fund will invest in companies in multiple industries, with an initial focus on “transportation and logistics; energy generation, storage, and utilization; manufacturing and materials; circular economy; and food and agriculture.”
The company said the fund will consider companies “of all sizes and stages…from pre-product startups to well-established enterprises looking to scale.” Amazon (ticker: AMZN) said the global fund will look at investing in companies developing goods or services that reduce carbon emissions and help preserve nature.
Amazon didn’t give a time frame for the planned $2 billion investment. The company said that over time, it will “look for opportunities to involve other Climate Pledge signatories” in the fund. Other signatories so far include Verizon, Infosys and Reckitt Benckiser.
The Climate Pledge Fund’s debut coincides with Amazon’s release of its 2019 sustainability report. The company said it is on track to be running 100% on renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. Amazon noted that it had previously pledged to reach 80% by 2024 and 100% by 2030.
Amazon also said it has made two investments from its $100 million Right Now Climate Fund, including a reforestation project in the Appalachians in the U.S. and an urban-greening effort in Berlin. Part of the company’s Climate Pledge initiative, the Right Now Climate Fund “takes immediate action to remove or avoid carbon emissions by supporting nature-based climate solutions,” Amazon said.
June 24, 2020