Amazon's goal: half its shipments to be carbon neutral by 2030

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Amazon.com has set a net zero carbon goal on 50 percent of its shipments by 2030, it announced on Monday.

The environmental commitment, which the online shipping and cloud computing company calls "Shipment Zero," calls for eventual further improvements in reducing its carbon footprint. Amazon's statement on Monday noted a goal of eventually making its processes completely carbon neutral, but did not offer a specific timetable.

"For the first time we can now see a path to net zero carbon delivery of shipments to customers, and we are setting an ambitious goal for ourselves to reach 50 percent of all Amazon shipments with net zero carbon by 2030," the statement said in part.

It added that prior efforts at environmental sustainability include its Frustration Free packaging and Ship in Your Own Container programs, as well as use of solar and wind power in the company's facilities.

Announcement of the new program comes days after the activist group Greenpeace said Amazon has failed in its commitment to clean energy. A Greenpeace report, released on Wednesday, noted that only 12 percent of power used at Amazon's data centers in Virginia comes from renewable methods. Facebook's reading is 34 percent and Microsoft's is 34 percent, the report said.

Monday's Amazon statement, though, said that "Amazon has a long-term goal to power our global infrastructure using 100 percent renewable energy, and we are making solid progress."