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On Monday, a group of Amazon employees began broadcasting an open letter inviting CEO, Jeff Bezos, and the board of directors to adopt a plan at the same time. business aimed at combating climate change. On Wednesday, more than 3,500 Amazonians were registered. On Friday, this number had exceeded 6,000, equivalent to about one-tenth of the total number of companies that had publicly added their names. And these names are still rolling.
One of the last names belongs to Tim Bray, vice president and distinguished engineer who, according to his LinkedIn profile, is "an AWS connoisseur on Amazon.com". This means that the movement is officially gaining support at the highest levels of society.
"We are seeing overwhelming and generous support from employees signing our open letter and representing our youngest employees to the level of Vice President," said Elizabeth Whitmire, Senior Technical Writer at AWS. The letter asks Amazon "to adopt the shareholders' resolution of the climate plan and to publish a climate plan for the whole of society". This resolution was proposed by employees, many of whom participated in the organization of the open letter at the end of last year.
It states that such a climate plan must be consistent with the latest scientific knowledge and that "emissions must be halved by 2030 relative to 2010 levels and reach zero by 2050 ", that" the objectives should extend to all organizations and businesses, and cover the entire supply. " chain, "and that climate impacts take precedence when the company makes business decisions," including ending all custom solutions specifically designed for oil and gas extraction and exploration . "
Indeed, an important and ever-growing part of Amazon's workforce is publicly demanding that the company adopt concrete emissions targets, reduce the number of people in the company's workforce, and reduce the number of people in the workforce. use of fossil fuels and break some links with AWS with the oil and gas sector. reported here, the company seems to consider a growth sector. (The letter itself quotes an article I published last month on how the technology industry is helping the oil and gas industry adopt automation tools and tools. Artificial intelligence.)
This action is, by and large, unprecedented. The New York Times has termed it "the biggest movement on climate change led by employees of the influential technology industry". Employees from all walks of life and all departments have apparently joined, from UX designers to biz development managers to systems development engineers and beyond. . A number of executives are also present. In addition to the Vice President, at the time of writing these lines, I counted at least eight directors on the list. (Medium, where the letter is displayed, estimates that the list would take almost two hours to be read in its entirety.)
This is part of the growing trend to defend workers' rights in the technology industry, which follows Google Walkout for Change and the effort We will not build, also at Amazon. In comparison, this effort, which opposed last June Amazon's contracts for the construction of facial recognition software for the US government, had attracted hundreds of signatories.
Almost a year later, the next open letter protesting corporate policy attracted thousands. All this within an industry and a company reputed for secrecy and deemed punitive against those who violate it. There is a growing audacity in these actions that would have been unusual for the secret and closed industry even a few years ago.
Amazon's board of directors has recommended that shareholders vote "against" the climate resolution, which could inspire new actions among employees.
The employees I spoke to were encouraged by developments like Shipment Zero, Amazon's new effort to reduce carbon emissions from its shipping program, which require concrete delays and delays. clarifications on how these emission reductions will be achieved.
The story has been taken up all over the world, from the CBS to the New York Times to Wired, and unequivocally demonstrates the power of action of workers in the technology sector – and perhaps even a new era for a sector long dedicated to the founder of Superman mythologies and personality cults.
The press team of Amazon refused to comment on the recording.
[UPDATE]: But they provided the statement they made to the press regarding the open letter:
"Earlier this year, we announced that we would be sharing our carbon footprint at the corporate level, as well as the associated goals and programs. We also announced Shipment Zero, our vision to make all Amazon shipments carbon-clear, with 50% of all shipments net by 2030. Amazon's sustainability team is using a science-based approach to develop data and information. strategies to ensure a rigorous approach to our products work sustainability. We have launched a number of important and impactful programs, and we are working hard to fully integrate this approach with Amazon as a whole. Our commitment to ensuring our customers understand how we deal with environmental issues is unwavering – we look forward to more work and more work this year. We have a long tradition of commitment to sustainability through innovative programs such as Frustration Free Packaging, Ship in Own Container, our network of solar and wind parks, rooftop solar power in our distribution centers, Investments in the Circular Economy with the Fund for the Closed Loop, and Many other initiatives are organized every day by Amazon teams. In operations alone, we have more than 200 scientists, engineers and product designers dedicated exclusively to inventing new ways to leverage our ladder for the benefit of customers and the planet. We have a long-term commitment to fuel our global infrastructure using 100% renewable energy. "
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