Amazon.com, Inc. – Keegan Johnson – 2021

Goals

Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge—a commitment to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040—10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. EDF Climate Corps fellow Keegan Johnson was brought on by Amazon to develop internal embodied carbon guidance for Amazon’s real estate portfolio to track, evaluate, and reduce Amazon’s buildings’ scope 3 emissions. 

Solutions

Keegan compiled Amazon’s current embodied carbon processes across all lines of business, researched technology and programmatic solutions, and developed Amazon-specific guidance to strategically address embodied carbon throughout the building lifecycle. He collaborated with over 25 internal stakeholders to drive technology solutions and develop resources to empower real estate teams. In addition to this internal guidance, Keegan built a user-friendly tool for building designers, procurement teams, general contractors, and sustainability leads to navigate the stakeholder-specific guidance to reduce embodied carbon in their real estate delivery.

Potential Impact

As Amazon continues to expand globally, scaling embodied carbon reduction mechanisms will be a critical strategy for Amazon to reach its goal of net-zero carbon by 2040. Keegan’s delivery of embodied carbon guidance throughout the building lifecycle will help reduce carbon emissions in Amazon’s buildings.