Amazon workers concerned over leadership and environmental impact

In a recent survey of 800 Amazon corporate employees, significant concerns have emerged regarding the company’s leadership and its environmental practices. The survey, which included both virtual responses and in-person feedback collected in Seattle’s South Lake Union, reveals a workforce increasingly skeptical of Amazon’s commitment to ethical practices and environmental sustainability.

Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of workers who have pushed Amazon to take more action toward reducing its environmental footprint, spent four months surveying workers.

The group found that most respondents expressed distrust in Amazon’s senior leadership, particularly regarding the company’s climate impact and AI ethics. Seventy-one percent of employees disagreed that climate impact is a key metric guiding Amazon’s business decisions, and 61% believe that Amazon’s leadership is not accurately representing the company’s climate impact to the public.

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Amazon’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 is viewed with skepticism, as the company lacks interim targets and has seen a 40% increase in annual carbon emissions since 2019. Amazon’s carbon footprint is substantial, with emissions surpassing those of the 72 lowest-emitting countries combined. The group alleges what Amazon emits in one year is equivalent to two people taking a long-haul plane flight every day for 97,700 years.

Eighty-nine percent of workers believe Amazon should hold itself to the same standards as other large retailers in accounting for carbon emissions related to all product sales. The group claims Amazon also doesn’t count emissions from products which are sold by third-parties on the Amazon website (60% of its sales). Instead, unlike other major companies, it says Amazon only counts the emissions from Amazon branded products, which account for about 1% of its sales. This accounting allows Amazon to report 4 times the revenue of Target alongside 9% lower carbon emissions. The group believes company is dramatically undercounting its carbon footprint — even as it claims to be a leader in sustainability.

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Fifty-nine percent of respondents do not trust Amazon to prioritize ethics in AI development. Concerns are heightened by Amazon’s expansion of gas plants and delayed retirement of coal plants to power new AI data centers. Additionally, 52% of employees do not support Amazon providing AI services to oil and gas companies. Amazon’s AI services are projected to generate $9.6 billion annually from the fossil fuel industry, raising ethical and environmental concerns.

Nearly one-third of respondents would not feel comfortable with Amazon opening new warehouses or delivery hubs in their communities, citing concerns over air pollution and its disproportionate impact on communities of color. Sixty-four percent of corporate employees do not believe that Amazon treats its warehouse workers well, highlighting ongoing issues within the company’s labor practices.

The survey results underscore a growing demand among Amazon employees for greater transparency, ethical leadership, and meaningful action on climate change. Workers are calling for a more significant role in decision-making processes, particularly those related to environmental and ethical issues.

Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly told the Seattle Times the survey “doesn’t appear to be statistically credible or representative” of its workforce. Kelly said Amazon had not reviewed the methodology of the study.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.