While all 15 investor-backed resolutions raised during Amazon’s recent shareholder meeting died on the vine, there was a glimmer of hope with at least one. Almost half of the shareholders voted in favor of calling on the company to address its growing plastic packaging problem — the highest level of support among the resolutions considered and among all Amazon shareholder resolutions voted on to date. Shareholders are rightfully demanding more from Amazon’s leaders when it comes to sustainability — and their fight must continue.
The resolution comes in the wake of an eye-opening report from Oceana, which found that Amazon produced 599 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2020, a 29 percent increase since 2019. This plastic packaging waste, in the form of air pillows, would circle our planet more than 600 times. Amazon’s shoppers are worried about such trends, with close to 90 percent of customers concerned about plastic pollution.
