Amazon’s Underwhelming Circular Packaging Achievements
(This essay is a mock letter from a major investor to the leaders of Amazon. It was a graduate school assignment in my sustainability management master’s program)
Executive Summary
We know the global community is facing an existential threat because of human caused ecological disruption. As one of the world’s most innovative and capable corporations, Amazon has a tremendous opportunity to lead the transition to sustainability by designing and implementing circular packaging and recycling solutions that will revolutionize our economy. By strategically instituting a circular operating model we can create products that are compatible with a regenerative system of material production, reclamation and reuse. In this brief I’ll critically evaluate Amazon’s success at integrating circular design principles into its packaging, operations, and brand identity. I’ll also outline how Amazon can leverage its expertise and partnerships to lead the shift towards circular product and packaging design. By doing so Amazon can accelerate an innovation revolution that creates new products and services to facilitate the migration to this advanced economic model. Through the principles of circular design Amazon can achieve greater efficiencies, reduce immediate and long term risks, and facilitate a superior exchange system that aligns with our vision for the future.
Current Sustainability Initiatives
Strategic Objectives:
Amazon has committed to implementing strategies that will enable it to achieve their stated sustainability goals. A key pillar of its carbon and waste reduction plan is to institute circular design principles so that the materials produced can be reclaimed and reintroduced into manufacturing or ecological systems. Our ecommerce platform is only effective because of the reliability and efficiency of our delivery logistics, but other components of our back-of-house operations can be retooled to comport with a circular model objective. In addition to hosting an intuitive and expansive web interface to facilitate the purchasing of goods, we can facilitate a network for the coordination of material recycling. We’ve invested tremendous resources to curate an exceptional product experience by creating packaging that’s efficient to transport and easy to open. We should now adapt these design priorities so that our packaging materials are compatible with organic composting or industrial recycling processes. We can configure our array of assets to provide our customers and partners with the resources that will empower them to fully engage with this new circular packaging model.
Brand Leadership:
Amazon has publicly acknowledged the merits of a circular economy with a dedicated section on its sustainability page. It is commendable that these public facing sites includes these progressive concepts that signal Amazon’s awareness of these urgent imperatives. However, the current information lacks depth and specificity on how our operations have been modified to better align with the circular principles we espouse. We must be more transparent, detailed, and forthcoming with how internal initiatives and external campaigns have integrated circular design into our products and partnerships.
A theme throughout Amazon’s public communications and sustainability reports is that the company is taking climate disruption seriously and is diligently working on it. We must now deliver on these promises with tangible solutions that significantly pivot the company in the right direction. In our 2019 sustainability report we avoided mentioning the quantity of plastic and packaging waste we produce annually. By some estimates Amazon produces 116 million pounds of plastic a year, with 20% of it eventually polluting marine ecosystems. This is an unacceptable externalization. Our latest sustainable packaging innovation is a recyclable mailer that is disappointing with its mixed materials that cannot be conveniently returned. Is this the best we can do? Despite years of research iterating on our standard cardboard packaging, we have failed to reimagine or implement new materials, operations or communications that truly emulate the mature circular model we’re striving for. The consumer goods sector is getting increasingly aggressive about how well they align their brands and products with sustainability ethics shared by a growing population of customers. For the initial launch of this circular economy campaign we should concentrate on our iconic Amazon boxes and flexible mailer packaging to embody and signal our brand and operational alignment with these sustainable principles. It’s time for Amazon to step up and lead with circular alternatives
Advancing Circular Packaging
A circular packaging system will be based on the conversion of plant based bio-fibers into bio-resins and bio-composites that will replace petroleum plastics and corrugated cardboard. Managing an integrated supply chain from cultivation to fabrication will secure our source of materials, relieving us on reliance on wood pulp markets and petrochemical synthesis. give us independent control of its sustainable production controllable Supporting a network of vendors and suppliers who cultivate and cure bio-fibers will invigorate a new agroecological sector that can catalyze other regenerative technologies. Developing a bio-fiber production system can link with Amazon’s logistics capabilities to circulate materials out to customers, collected by our recycling partners transported by our fleet, and reintroduced into reclamation and fabrication. To actualize this circular model we’ll have to fine tune the manufacturability and functionality of bio-fibers products
Adapting Supply Loops
Substantial research and development funds should be allocated to cultivate and convert organic compounds into bio-fibers that Amazon can fabricate into products. Dedicating substantial financial and technical resources to optimize the life-cycle sciences and fabrication tools the company will utilize to operate a circular material system. Implementing cradle-to-cradle design principles we can foster partnerships that fuel our conversion and fabrication technologies. Bio-fiber enterprise is a nascent industry but is gaining traction by publicizing these alternative organic compounds that are equally as functional.
Biofiber Alternatives
- Crop Waste: Excess organic material from agricultural crops like corn and sugarcane is an easy source to tap. Emerging opportunities with bamboo and seaweed can be accelerated through Amazon’s innovation incubator programs
- Mycelium: Derived from mushroom this fungi can morph into nearly any shape. Its proven flexibility and adhesiveness makes it ideal for producing at scale and applying it to a variety of products. Mycelium entrepreneurs are configuring shipping container farms integrated with solar arrays. The sustainable bio-fiber economy is just getting started.
Recycling Networks
Amazon maintains a vast network of vendors and partnerships that can be leveraged to streamline time, energy, and material efficiencies. Coordinating logistics with retail centers like Amazon stores, Whole Foods grocers, and other partner companies can strengthen the pipeline of material sourcing and circulation. Communicating this strategic initiative to our partners and supporting small business will spur competitive innovation. Calibrating a bio-fiber supply loop will revert Amazon’s carbon footprint by propagating carbon sequestering agroecology and stewarding the welfare of the ecosystems we rely on.
Updating Standards
We can update our packaging standards so that vendors must report the full life-cycle analysis of their products. The stringency of these new standards for our partners can ramp up over time and eventually require all packaging materials to be derived from bio-fibers compatible with our circular reclamation systems. Using the vast communications capabilities we can disseminate instructional guides to partners and train up our internal workforce on how to restructure design and fabrication processes. Now is the time for Amazon to stride into the next generation of packaging by instituting circular design principles.
Existing Partnerships and New Collaborations
In addition to Amazon’s vast network of business partners the company also maintains a spectrum of relationships with community benefit institutions. On Amazon’s sustainability website it lists its partners in this circular system initiative but fails to describe specific projects Amazon has collaborated with these organizations on. In reality the extent of Amazon’s role in these partnerships are financial donations provided to sustain those institutions who provide sustainability advising services to others. We should establish strategic initiatives with these institutions and collaborate with them on a review of our internal operations. Such a dynamic invites diverse perspectives and expertise that can devise innovative solutions. Reporting on the results of these exploratory projects will enhance Amazon’s credibility and brand image. Below I’ve provided recommendations on how Amazon can elevate its collaborations with existing partners and stimulate synergies that will advance circular economics.
Sustainable Packaging Coalition:
Infuse this nonprofit with more funding and hire a team of consultants they refer that can advise on how to develop bio-resin fabrication tools. Sharing knowledge across industries will catalyze the adoption of circular packaging
The Recycling Partnership
We can support the local development of recycling facilities that can recycle petro-plastics, and be retrofitted to process bio-composites. Lending our logistical expertise we can advise municipalities and their partners on how to arrange efficient circulation schemes.
Closed Loop Fund
Working with this social enterprise venture fund Amazon can deploy a suite of investments and develop incubator programs that can rapidly iterate new technologies and operations.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
As a leader in circular economy thinking we can align with this foundation to distribute new communication campaigns to inform industry and the public and circular possibilities. Their technical expertise can also be tapped into as an advisor on internal R&D initiatives.
Summary of Recommended Actions
BioFiber Compounds: Devote financial and organizational resources to innovate a web of biofiber cultivation practices and fabrication technologies.
Reclamation Logistics: Coordinate the circulation of existing organic materials to support existing recycling while advancing biofiber conversion opportunities.
Partnership Synergies: Establish a communications campaign that forms new business relationships and scholarly consultations to collectively enact a circular economy.
