WHEREAS:

“Environmental racism” occurs when pollution is disproportionately concentrated in communities of color. “Environmental justice” occurs when pollution is borne equitably across communities regardless of their racial profile.

Popular and governmental attention to environmental justice increased in 2019:

• First Presidential forum held on environmental justice (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/09/warren-booker-envir…)

• Senator Cory Booker introduced “The Environmental Justice Act of 2019” and co-founded an “Environmental Justice Caucus” within the Senate (https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=966)

• House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raul Grijalva and Rep. McEachin began a process to draft an environmental justice bill (https://naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/chair-grijalva-…-
justice-bill-based-on-public-feedback-at-environmental-justice-convening)

• California passed Assembly member Robert Rivas’s environmental justice bill (https://a30.asmdc.org/press-releases/20190912-state-legislature-approve…)

• A New School report counted 40 local policies aimed at achieving environmental justice (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d14dab43967cc000179f3d2/t/5d5c4…
04.15.2019.pdf).

Evidence suggests Amazon’s logistics operations may have an environmentally racist impact. Beyond carbon dioxide which drives climate change, diesel trucks also emit other dangerous substances:

• Nitrogen dioxide and microscopic particles permanently stunt lung development in children. (https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/04/air-pollution-data-health-e…)

• Heat causes nitrogen oxides to combine with volatile organic compounds to become ozone. Ozone causes breathing problems and premature death. (https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/outdoor/air-pollution/…)

San Bernardino, California is a major logistics hub for Amazon and has some of the worst air quality in the country. Children in this region have many adverse health symptoms linked to diesel emissions. (https://www.lung.org/about-us/blog/2016/11/battling-for-breath.html)

A coalition representing the “majority-minority” community is opposing a proposed air hub where Amazon is the “rumored tenant” and which would draw more trucks, worsening the pollution in the community. (https://www.sbsun.com/2019/12/06/bernie-sanders-xavier-becerra-urge-faa…)

The following are Amazon warehouses in communities of color, defined as zip codes with “majority-minority” populations, that are also within a top-20 smog-polluted metropolitan region, according to the American Lung Association.

Communities where a large proportion of the population is Latinx:

 • California: San Bernardino, Eastvale, Fontana, Rialto, Redlands, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris, Beaumont, Long Beach, Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy, Patterson

 • Arizona: Phoenix, Tolleson

 • Connecticut: Windsor

 • Illinois: Waukegan

 • Nevada: North Las Vegas

 • Texas: Houston, Dallas, Wilmer

 • New Jersey: Carteret

 • Utah: Salt Lake City

Communities where a large proportion of the population is Black:

 • Colorado: Aurora

 • Georgia: Union City, Lithia Springs, Stone Mountain

 • Illinois: Joliet, Romeoville

 • Texas: Fort Worth, Dallas, Lancaster

This list reveals that many communities of color throughout the United States are heavily impacted by Amazon’s pollution. When considering freight routes, including rail and air transportation, Amazon has an even larger impact on communities of color.

Amazon could face regulatory, operational, and reputational risk from the possible disproportionate impact of its pollution on communities of color.

Resolved: Shareholders request that Amazon prepare a public report, describing its efforts, above and beyond legal and regulatory compliance, to identify and reduce disproportionate environmental and health harms to communities of color, associated with past, present and future pollution from its delivery logistics and other operations. The report should be prepared at reasonable expense and may exclude confidential information.