Mercedes-Benz targets zero-carbon emissions by 2040, provides 1,800 EVs to Amazon

Mercedes-Benz has joined Amazon’s Climate Pledge, setting an aim to become a zero-carbon business by 2040, on the same day the company confirmed it would provide more than 1,800 electric vehicles (EVs) to the e-commerce giant’s Delivery Service Partners.

Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has committed to making all cars across the brand’s portfolio carbon-neutral within the next two decades. The commitment will cover the manufacture, use and end-of-life stage for all branded cars initially, with Daimler also committing to work with suppliers in order to spur the creation of carbon-neutral supply chains in the future. 

Building on that commitment, Mercedes-Benz has joined The Climate Pledge, which calls on signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040. The Climate Pledge was set up by Amazon and Global Optimism to inspire organisations to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement 10 years early.

The company is evaluating ways to reduce emissions across the value chain, an ambition that was already in motion through the “Ambition2039″ carbon-neutrality strategy.

“At Mercedes-Benz, we have set ourselves the ambitious target to make the transformation of mobility a success story. By joining ‘The Climate Pledge’ we are building on our goal to consistently pursue emission-free mobility and sustainable vehicle production,” Daimler AG’s chairman of the board of management Ola Källenius said.

“We stand with Amazon, Global Optimism and the other signatories of The Climate Pledge, in a commitment to being net-zero carbon by 2040 – ten years ahead of The Paris Agreement. I am pleased that we will be able to gain even more momentum on our sustainability offensive with this step.”

By the end of this year, Mercedes-Benz will have a vehicle portfolio comprising of five fully electric vehicles and more than 20 plug-in hybrids.

One of these vehicles is the eSprinter, which can be charged in up to 30 minutes using 80kW rapid-charging infrastructure.

Amazon’s Climate Pledge

To coincided with joining the Climate Pledge, the car manufacturer has also announced that it is providing more than 1,800 EVs to Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners, to assist with deliveries across the globe.

More than 1,200 eSprinters will be provided, with an additional 600 eVitos – a smaller zero-emission electric van – also incorporated into the fleet. The agreement makes Mercedes-Benz Amazon’s largest provider of low-carbon transportation.

“We welcome the bold leadership demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to ambitious action to address climate change. We need continued innovation and partnership from auto manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz to decarbonize the transportation sector and tackle the climate crisis,” Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos said.

“Amazon is adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz as part of our journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world, and we will be moving fast to get these vans on the road this year.”

E-commerce giant Amazon pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040, after its staff lobbied for the firm to take more bold action on climate change.

As a first step, the company has committed to order 100,000 fully electric delivery vehicles, the first 10,000 of which will be added to its global fleet by 2022. The remaining 90,000 vehicles will be phased in by 2030. 

The EV fleet will be powered by renewable energy. Amazon has committed to running on 100% renewables by 2025. Globally, Amazon has 91 renewable energy projects that have the capacity to generate more than 2,900 MW and deliver more than 7.5 million MWh of energy annually.

Matt Mace