AMAZON DEVICES MOST SUSTAINABLE YET

According to an Amazon blog post, Amazon’s six new devices are its most sustainable to ever be introduced to the UK. The all-new Echo family and the latest Fire TV devices recently announced will include 100 per cent post-consumer recycled fabric, 100 per cent recycled die-cast aluminium, and 30-50 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic. Going forwards, Amazon is also working to source 100 per cent of the wood fibre in device packaging from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources, and is also reducing waste, eliminating over 9 million plastic bags from device packaging in 2020 alone. The packaging for the latest Echo line-up, consisting of the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Dot with Clock, Echo Show 10, Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite, are made from more than 98 per cent wood fibre base materials sourced from responsibly managed forests. Alongside this, Amazon also announced new ways for customers to reduce the energy consumption of their devices. On average, more than half of the total carbon footprint of a device comes from when it’s in use. With this in mind, the new Low Power Mode feature has been added to all new wall-powered Echo and Fire TV devices, reducing their lifetime energy consumption by using less power during periods of inactivity. For existing customers, free, over-the-air updates will bring Low Power Mode to devices already in their homes, meaning they can use their devices more sustainably without having to do a thing. The retail giant has committed to addressing the use phase of devices through renewable energy investments and is building new wind and solar farms to produce clean energy equivalent to the electricity used by every customer’s Echo device worldwide. Solar panels on the roof on Amazon buildings.(Amazon) The first wind and solar farms will be built in the U.S. with a goal to continue building new renewable energy projects until it accounts for the energy consumption of all Amazon devices across the globe. The latest news follows existing programmes—like the Amazon Recycling, Devices Pre-Owned, and Trade-In programmes or the frustration-free packaging programme—that address the beginning and end of our products’ lifecycles. Through its sustainable packaging initiatives, Amazon has globally reduced the weight of outbound packaging by 33 per cent and eliminated more than 900,000 tons of materials from landfills.