In 2020, Amazon launched Climate Pledge
Friendly (CPF) as a program
not only to streamline
access
to the myriad items with sustainability certifications available through its
stores, but to educate consumers on what actually constitutes a “more
sustainable” purchase.
“A huge learning is that we’ve been able to confirm that this is something
customers want,” Cameron
Westfall, Head of Product and
Engineering for CPF, told Sustainable Brands®.
The company reports that in 2021 it shipped more than 370 million CPF-labeled
units to Amazon customers and found that the addition of the label provides an
average 10 percent lift in page views.
“So, the demand is there; now, we just need to continue to scale and keep
improving on our customer experience,” he added.
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CPF now encompasses 300,000 products and 20,000 brands in the US.
Climate Pledge Friendly includes grocery, household, fashion, beauty and
personal electronics products, among others — from brands such as Seventh
Generation, Nestlé, Allegro Tea and Jabra. CPF products are
clearly labeled in shopping results, have additional sustainability information
on product pages and are featured in a dedicated section of the site.
Starting at certifications
Westfall explained that the foundation of CPF is in a range of certifications
that allow for inclusions of a diverse range of products that meet
sustainability standards. Amazon maintains a high bar for certifications in the
CPF program, some of which are included in Amazon’s source commitments for its
private brands. For example, the retailer is striving to source all leather for
its Amazon Private Brands apparel and shoe products from more sustainable
sources by the end of 2023 by sourcing from tanneries that meet the Leather
Working Group's bronze-level award or higher.
Although the breadth of certifications is wide-ranging, Westfall does see
opportunity for improvement.
“We primarily rely on third-party certifiers to qualify products for the
program; but we have noticed some gaps where there isn’t a certification,” he
says.
To address this, Amazon developed its own certifications, Compact by
Design and
Pre-Owned Certified. The former aims to identify products that have a more efficient
design, focusing on the removal of excess air and water; while the latter is an
initiative to offer more circular product choices through resale of certain
goods such as electronics and tools.
Late last year, the company also launched Amazon
Aware,
which features a range of everyday household items — from apparel and bedding to
cleaning supplies — all certified carbon neutral and earning additional
certifications in the CPF program.
“If a product is more sustainable in some way, we want it to be easy for the
customer to find; and we’re always looking to grow the selection, while
preserving our trusted high bar,” Westfall noted.
Customer discovery and ease remains front and center
The next phase for CPF is to continue increasing the selection and the ability
for customers to easily find and learn more about CPF products. Amazon is
working towards this by allowing customers to filter for Climate Pledge Friendly
products, adding the CPF label to show in product search results, and working
with brands to build out content on their detail page to further tell their
sustainability stories.
This past year, Amazon experimented with new ways to add unique selection to the
CPF program; these include its first-ever Products for Tomorrow
program
— which provided $20,000 grants to small businesses creating innovative,
sustainably-focused products. Winners of the grants will be featured in multiple
Amazon storefronts this fall.
Additionally, the company launched
rare/self
— a new Amazon Fashion brand co-created with Yannik Zamboni, winner of
Prime Video’s Making the Cut season 3. In lieu of traditional sizing,
rare/self features an all-gender size curve; and every product in the assortment
has third-party sustainability certifications featured in CPF.
CPF represents a multi-faceted approach for Amazon, especially as it continues
to work towards its 2040 net-zero carbon emissions
pledge.
“One of our key leadership principles is customer obsession,” Westfall asserted.
“To be customer-obsessed for us means providing customers a wide selection at
low prices and also doing business that is good for the planet.”
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Geoff is a freelance journalist and copywriter focused on making the world a better place through compelling copy. He covers everything from apparel to travel while helping brands worldwide craft their messaging. In addition to Sustainable Brands, he's currently a contributor at Penta, AskMen.com, Field Mag and many others. You can check out more of his work at geoffnudelman.com.
Published Jan 5, 2023 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET