Amazon.com Inc. today launched a micromobility hub in London from where it plans to make more than 1 million e-commerce deliveries every year.

In conjunction, the company announced plans to install more than 30,000 rooftop solar panels at several of its U.K. facilities.

Amazon has set a goal of delivering 50% of the shipments that it processes with net zero-carbon emissions by 2030. In the longer term, the company hopes to achieve net zero-carbon emissions across its entire business by 2040. To that end, Amazon is making significant investments in renewable energy and green technologies.

The new micromobility hub that the company inaugurated today is located in the London borough of Hackney. Workers at the hub will deliver packages to customers using electric cargo bikes and on foot. Amazon expects to replace thousands of delivery van trips, which the company said will reduce not only emissions but also traffic congestion.

“Amazon is driving towards a global net-zero carbon future,” said John Boumphrey, the U.K. country manager at Amazon. “One way we’re doing that is through the transformation of our transportation networks. Our new e-cargo bikes, walkers and growing electric vehicle delivery fleet will help us make more zero-emission customer deliveries than ever before across London and the U.K. in the coming months.” 

Alongside the launch of the new micromobility hub today, Amazon announced several other steps designed to advance its sustainability initiatives. The company stated that it expects to establish more electric cargo delivery hubs in the U.K. over the next few months. Additionally, Amazon intends to install 30,000 solar panels across several of its facilities by year’s end.

The solar panels will be installed on the roofs of Amazon facilities in Manchester, Coalville, Haydock, Bristol and Milton Keynes. Once online, they will generate 13,000 megawatt hours of electricity, which is enough to power more than 3,500 U.K. homes annually. Amazon currently has 18 onsite solar projects across its U.K. facilities and plans to more than double that number by 2024.

Alongside the solar panels deployed at its facilities, Amazon is investing in five utility-scale wind and solar energy projects throughout the U.K. One of those projects is the Moray West Wind Farm, an offshore wind farm located near the coast of Scotland. Amazon describes the project as “largest corporate commitment to a renewable energy project in the U.K. to date.”

Amazon is the top corporate buyer of renewable energy both in the U.K. and worldwide. Overall, the company had a total of 310 wind and solar projects across 19 countries as of April. Once they all become fully operational, Amazon expects to avoid 17.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year, which is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of more than 3.7 million cars.

Another important component of Amazon’s sustainability strategy is its growing fleet of electric delivery vehicles. The company is currently in the process of procuring 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian Automotive Inc., an automaker that went public last November. The vehicles are based on a custom design that Amazon helped develop.

Photo: Amazon