Mercedes Benz today announced that it has signed on to The Climate Pledge, joining a group of global companies committing to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040. In a joint statement with Amazon, the automaker also announced an order for more than 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Vans to be added to Amazon’s European delivery fleet this year.

The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and climate change-focused organization Global Optimism, calling on signatories to achieve net zero carbon across their businesses 10 years ahead of the Paris Accord’s 2050 target. Companies that sign onto the Climate Pledge agree to numerous steps, including:

• Measuring and reporting GHG emissions on a regular basis
• Implementing decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations. These include efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies
• Neutralizing any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said:

“At Mercedes-Benz, we have set ourselves the ambitious target to make the transformation of mobility a success story. By joining ‘The Climate Pledge’ we are building on our goal to consistently pursue emission-free mobility and sustainable vehicle production. We stand with Amazon, Global Optimism and the other signatories of The Climate Pledge, in a commitment to being net zero carbon by 2040 – ten years ahead of The Paris Agreement. I am pleased that we will be able to gain even more momentum on our sustainability offensive with this step.”

Mercedes-Benz’s Cars business has already set a target of offering completely CO2-neutral new-vehicle fleet by 2039 under the heading “Ambition2039.” In today’s announcement, the automaker stated it was doubling down on this commitment, and is evaluating ways to remove carbon from its entire value chain, from development to the supplier network, from its own production to the electrification of products and beyond, as well as to ensuring renewable energies for the use phase of electric vehicles. According to Mercedes-Benz, the company’s vehicle portfolio will comprise five fully electric models and more than 20 plug-in hybrids by the end of this year.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said:

“We welcome the bold leadership demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to ambitious action to address climate change. We need continued innovation and partnership from auto manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz to decarbonize the transportation sector and tackle the climate crisis. Amazon is adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz as part of our journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world, and we will be moving fast to get these vans on the road this year.”

The new EV order from Amazon marks the largest order of electric vehicles for Mercedes-Benz Vans to date, making Amazon its largest sustainable transportation partner worldwide. Of the 1,800 vans in the order, more than 1,200 will be comprised of the company’s newest electric commercial van, the eSprinter, a larger model than the manufacturer’s first zero-emission vehicle, the eVito. The eSprinter includes state-of-the-art safety features including, electrical parking brake, active brake assist, reverse camera, blind spot assist, and more. The remaining 600 vehicles will be comprised of the manufacturer’s midsize electric van, the eVito, to give Delivery Service Partners operating in geographies that require a smaller-format vehicle access to a zero-emissions delivery option.

Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said:

“I am delighted that we are further intensifying our long-standing partnership with Amazon and working together on the battery-electric future of transportation. With the eVito and the eSprinter, we have electric vehicles in our portfolio, which are ideally suited for the requirements of the courier-, express- and parcel-service industry for goods delivery on the so-called ‘last mile’ in terms of their equipment and range. They show that local emission-free driving, convincing performance, comfort and low operating costs can be combined perfectly.”

The order drew praise from the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, a collaborative group of companies focused on accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, led by sustainability-focused nonprofit organization Ceres. Sara Forni, Senior Manager of Clean Vehicles, Ceres and head of the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, said:

“We congratulate Amazon on its order of more than 1,800 electric delivery vans from Mercedes-Benz. Corporate leadership is critical to accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and purchases like this one send a strong signal to vehicle manufacturers — who must embrace the EV transition or risk missing out on the opportunities it creates. The EV transition is well underway and companies are eager to take advantage of the benefits they offer.”