Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has launched a philanthropic fund dedicated to supporting the environmental work of scientists, NGOs and other groups. With an initial available budget of $10bn, the Bezos Earth Fund will start issuing grants in summer 2020, stating: “We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals.”
The founder of the e-commerce giant also said in his Instagram post: “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
Amid growing criticism of Amazon’s environmental impact, treatment of workers and tax contributions, the move follows its Climate Pledge in 2019, which says the company will use 100% renewable energy by 2030, be carbon-neutral by 2040 and switch to all-electric delivery vehicles.
The new $10bn commitment is the third-largest philanthropic donation in the US this century, behind those of business magnate Warren Buffett ($36bn to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and the late arts supporter Helen Walton ($16bn to her family foundation).
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has launched a philanthropic fund dedicated to supporting the environmental work of scientists, NGOs and other groups. With an initial available budget of $10bn, the Bezos Earth Fund will start issuing grants in summer 2020, stating: “We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals.”
The founder of the e-commerce giant also said in his Instagram post: “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
Amid growing criticism of Amazon’s environmental impact, treatment of workers and tax contributions, the move follows its Climate Pledge in 2019, which says the company will use 100% renewable energy by 2030, be carbon-neutral by 2040 and switch to all-electric delivery vehicles.
The new $10bn commitment is the third-largest philanthropic donation in the US this century, behind those of business magnate Warren Buffett ($36bn to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and the late arts supporter Helen Walton ($16bn to her family foundation).