We recently announced an initiative to generate renewable energy by installing solar panels on 10 of our fulfilment centres across the UK. With an installed capacity of 20 megawatts, we expect these solar panels to generate the equivalent amount of electricity required to power over 4,500 UK homes, reducing our carbon footprint by 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The large-scale rooftop solar systems will be installed over the coming 18 months, subject to planning and landlord approval and supports our commitment announced last year to deploy solar systems on 50 customer fulfilment centres globally by 2020. We have also signed a deal for 100% renewable electricity to power our UK buildings. You can read the full story here.
We remain heavily focused on packaging innovations that cut waste and enhance the customer experience. Last year alone, we reduced packaging waste by 16% and avoided 305m shipping boxes. To further reduce packaging and delight our customers, the CPEX team (Customer Packaging Experience) and our EU Retail teams launched a new Frustration-Free Packaging Vendor Incentive Program.
There are two main tiers within the programme: Tier 1 FFP - Frustration Free Packaging, where the product ships in its own container that is fully recyclable and easy to open; and Tier 2 SIOC, where the product ships in its own container. Vendors will be offered an early adopter credit for every unit received into the fulfilment network on newly certified SIOC/FFP non-sort ASINs. To learn more about the program visit the About Amazon site here.
