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  • Lindsay Levin: So Dave, in just a few months,

  • you transition into a new role as CEO of consumer retail at Amazon.

  • That's a big role.

  • How will climate sit as a priority for you,

  • given all the other things you'll have on your plate?

  • Dave Clark: We've spent much of our end of the summer

  • in smoke-filled Seattle,

  • unable to enjoy the majestic Pacific Northwest due to all the fires

  • that encompassed the West Coast of the US this summer.

  • Climate is a very real challenge for all of us, not just at Amazon,

  • but in our daily lives at this point.

  • And I've been focused on this with the team and with Kara for years now.

  • In fact, we've embedded the sustainability teams

  • inside of our operations team,

  • as opposed to being a separate part of the company,

  • because we wanted those teams connected with the groups

  • that can actually make change.

  • LL: Kara, can you describe a couple of the biggest hurdles you face

  • as you work to reduce the carbon footprint

  • of a company like Amazon?

  • Kara Hurst: One of the really exciting but also complex things about Amazon

  • is the diversity of businesses that we're in,

  • the range of services and products,

  • of industries and different types of buildings and stores

  • and fulfillment centers,

  • and of course, all of our online infrastructure and business as well.

  • And we're committed to reaching net zero emissions.

  • I think our size and our scale can actually be a tremendous advantage.

  • It forces us to think about our carbon footprint

  • throughout all of our businesses,

  • our operations, our technologies, our services, our products.

  • And at one end,

  • we want to power our operations by 100 percent renewable energy by 2025,

  • but we're also making sure that when you receive a shipment,

  • we're at net zero carbon all the way through those operations.

  • And we want to do this in a very Amazonian way.

  • So we took a number of years to build what we call "a carbon system of record."

  • These are tools that allow us to think about this holistically

  • across the company.

  • LL: Dave, Amazon has made a pledge,

  • you call it "the Climate Pledge,"

  • to be net zero across your business by 2040.

  • That's 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

  • Give us a sense of the scale of transformation that that calls for

  • across your operations.

  • DC: It's very daunting.

  • When we started this process,

  • we started from a position of science,

  • of digging in and understanding all the inputs of our business,

  • what parts of our business create and put carbon into the environment,

  • what are the elements, each piece of that process,

  • and how do we improve them.

  • And as we started looking at that,

  • we said, well, how are we going to meet these objectives?

  • And it really requires innovation across almost every aspect of the business,

  • whether it be in our renewable space,

  • whether it be in electrification of our vehicles,

  • whether it be in our packaging and processes,

  • whether it be working with manufacturers.

  • Essentially, the entire span of our supply chain

  • is required to modify to meet the objectives of this over time,

  • which is why the Climate Pledge was so important.

  • LL: Kara, the Climate Pledge is not just about Amazon.

  • You're inviting other companies to join you.

  • KH: We know with the Climate Pledge we cannot do this alone.

  • It's going to take companies,

  • but partnership also with governments and communities and individuals

  • who will come up with solutions and new technologies.

  • We want to engage our full supply chain

  • as well as other companies,

  • and we're really excited that already 11 major organizations

  • have signed on to the Climate Pledge with us.

  • We want to accelerate innovation,

  • and we've established a two-billion-dollar Climate Pledge Fund

  • to invest in these companies

  • whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition

  • to a low-carbon economy.

  • So we know this is a very ambitious challenge,

  • but we want to make the greatest impact in the shortest possible timeline,

  • and it's exciting to share the complexity about how we think about this at Amazon

  • with other companies

  • and invite them to come along with us.

  • LL: Dave, when a company like Amazon moves,

  • it can have a huge impact across supply chains.

  • Give us an example or two of how a decision that you've made

  • is catalyzing innovation across the sector.

  • DC: I can tell you, just the example of Rivian.

  • Rivian is the electric vehicle manufacturer

  • that is going to build 100,000 electric delivery vehicles

  • for our delivery fleet.

  • When we went out and made this investment,

  • the number of new companies that started to spawn

  • relative to supporting Rivian,

  • to new electric delivery vehicles,

  • to even alternative fuels --

  • we started getting calls about alternative jet fuel

  • the day we put out that announcement on Rivian.

  • So as soon as people saw that we were going to invest real capital

  • for substantive portions of our operations --

  • these aren't hobbies,

  • but putting real money into big pieces of our operations --

  • it was amazing, the amount of companies that started coming out

  • who had an emergent technology here

  • or had a great idea and needed help in getting manufacturing started.

  • There was just example after example of those.

  • LL: Dave, Kara, thank you so much for being with us.

  • We wish you every success with the Climate Pledge

  • and really can't wait to see the progress you guys are going to make.

  • DC: Thank you, it's an honor to be here and be part of such an amazing event.

  • KH: Thank you.

Lindsay Levin: So Dave, in just a few months,

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