Buildings

We operate thousands of world-class facilities that serve our employees, customers, and communities across the globe. We’re reducing emissions across our portfolio by increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings, expanding our use of renewable energy, and using more sustainable building materials.

Progress

250+ facilities around the globe have rooftop solar installations, which can help power up to 80% of a facility’s energy use

100% of the energy consumed at our headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, is matched with renewable energy

36 data centers built using lower-carbon concrete in 2023

Our approach

We leverage industry best practices and emerging technologies in facility design and operation to drive reductions across carbon, energy, water, and waste.

We focus on the direct emissions that result from powering our buildings, and the indirect emissions from the embodied carbon—the carbon emitted during construction—in our building materials and equipment. We use proven technologies to enhance efficiency across our facilities and pilot new ideas, including innovations supported by The Climate Pledge Fund, to transition our buildings to net-zero carbon.

We employ various sustainability strategies across our different building types, which include corporate offices, fulfillment facilities, physical stores, and data centers.

Corporate offices

Our global corporate offices are often located in vibrant communities and urban hubs. Many offer plazas and open green spaces for communal and public use. Even more feature green roofs and infrastructure that provide outdoor space while supporting ecological functions like green stormwater management.

Indoor spaces integrate biophilic design concepts, such as green walls and locally sourced woods, energy-efficient lighting, composting and recycling, and employee wellness spaces. Many also offer electric vehicle charging stations, bike parking, and showers to encourage low-carbon transportation for employees and visitors.

🇺🇸 Arlington, Virginia

HQ2

Our second headquarters was built using new, sustainability-focused solutions like lower-carbon concrete, mass timber, electrified energy-efficient operations, advanced ways to reuse water, and two acres of landscaped roofs with native plants. The campus is powered with 100% renewable energy procured from a solar farm in Virginia and we’ve eliminated the use of fossil fuels within the buildings for daily operations.

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A stadium seating area with greenery and two people chatting.

A rooftop garden is shown with buildings in the background.

Two people and a dog are shown in a floral-themed seating area.

A cafe setting with two people working behind a counter.

Fulfillment centers

Our fulfillment, logistics, and distribution sites are state-of-the-art facilities where we process orders for our customers. Many throughout the U.S., Europe, and India are powered by on-site solar. We’re also pursuing Zero Carbon Certification status at some facilities, which requires lowering energy use, eliminating on-site gas combustion, and using lower-carbon building materials.

🇺🇸 California

Sacramento Same-Day Delivery Site

In 2023, this building achieved the International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification—the first-ever North American logistics building to be certified. Built using more sustainable materials like lower-carbon concrete, a fully electrified HVAC system, and high-efficiency material-handling equipment, it's powered with 100% renewable energy and uses smart irrigation systems that sense moisture and rain to reduce water usage.

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Physical stores

Our portfolio of physical stores includes hundreds of Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon Go locations across the U.S. and Europe.

In 2022, Whole Foods Market reached a milestone in energy efficiency performance, achieving the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge goal two years ahead of schedule. These energy efficiency improvements were driven by investing in alternative refrigerants with lower global warming potential, installing energy-efficient HVAC systems, implementing retrofit projects, and launching an energy awareness program for store operations.

Hands shown from above moving a tray on top of a metal surface.

A person places an item into a cart while grocery shopping.

🇺🇸 Seattle, Washington

Seattle Amazon Fresh

In 2023, this Amazon Fresh location received a Zero Carbon Certification from the International Living Future Institute, becoming the world’s first grocery store to receive the certification. Its many sustainability features include a natural-refrigerant-based refrigeration system, all-electric kitchen and hot water heating systems, electric vehicle charging for customers, and lower-carbon concrete floors.

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Data centers

We’re designing our AWS data centers—including our servers and hardware—for efficiency, resiliency, and a lower carbon footprint. We strive to reduce embodied carbon associated with concrete and steel—the two most carbon-intensive materials used to build our data centers.

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Two people surrounded by black and blue bins work in front of a large piece of machinery.

AWS Reverse Logistics Hub

To extend the life of data center hardware, AWS sends retired server racks and components to be demanufactured, repaired, and tested for reuse. This allows AWS to keep resources at their highest value for as long as possible, avoiding waste generation from our global operations, and reducing the use of raw materials and carbon emissions across our supply chain.

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