Amazon is firmly targeting a few things: speed, innovation, and investment. Focusing on sustainability with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is helping the e-commerce giant to meet its climate goals faster than anticipated.
Four years ago, Amazon vowed to “decarbonize its entire operations by 2040.” This ambitious goal, if achieved, would be ten years ahead of the 2050 Paris Agreement. Countries have agreed to reduce their emissions and positively impact climate change. The treaty was enacted in November 2016, when 195 parties joined the Paris Agreement.
To become a more sustainable company, Amazon must move fast, using AI and ML to improve its turnaround time. From package use and damaged products to reducing returns and measuring its carbon footprint, Amazon hopes to make significant progress in the coming years.
In just a few days, the world will focus on Global Recycling Day (18 March) and International Forest Day (21 March). Sustainability awareness should not only be the sharp focus on these specific calendar days. Amazon recently released a new list of innovations the company uses to sharpen its focus on reducing its carbon footprint.
Package use and damaged products
Three months ago, Amazon changed its packaging strategy, which many customers have complained about for years. Any packaging material used to deliver a customer’s product becomes fully recyclable.
The aim is to reach 100% renewable energy at all its warehouses globally by 2025.
But with limited time left to fast-track and stay with these plans, Amazon is using AI to speed up the process. “Packaging Decision Engine is an AI model helping determine the most efficient packaging options to ship millions of items available to Amazon customers,” says the company.
How does it work? Data scientists have trained the model to assess and consider various product descriptions. This includes the item’s shape and durability. It gives feedback on the best packaging material for a particular product to be shipped.
“The model is constantly learning and has helped reduce the company’s use of packaging material,” says Amazon.
As a result, the company has managed to eliminate over two million tons of packaging material worldwide since 2015.
Reducing returns
AI is also used to identify damaged packages. It’s currently being used across several fulfillment centers to detect damaged goods. The returns are also reduced by reducing the number of damaged goods, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.
Amazon says the AI models help improve their efficiency by three times, “identifying damaged goods” faster than humans. It also can analyze millions of photos of undamaged and damaged items. This saves time and money. These flagged products will then be redirected to be sold at a reduced price or donated.
Another way to enhance sustainable shopping is by reducing return leads. With the help of AI-powered innovation, customers can shop online, while ML helps customers find the right size that fits them.
“Personalized feedback from customers who wear the same size and improved size charts” reduces the possibility of a customer returning an item.
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
