Paris (AFP)
The associations Attac and the Friends of the Earth and the Union Syndicale Solidaires denounced Sunday in a report the social and environmental impact of the giant of the online distribution Amazon, a few days of the promotional operations of "Black Friday".
"The world according to Amazon is not viable", write in a report compiling different data the three organizations.
In particular, they criticize the company's "very heavy environmental impact," which boss Jeff Bezos promised would reach carbon neutrality in 2040.
Among the practices singled out, the rapid delivery "source of greenhouse gas emissions" and the destruction of unsold products.
Attac, the Friends of the Earth and Union Syndicale Solidaires, who intend to turn Black Friday into a "black day for Amazon" via "dozens of actions" in France, also denounce a lack of transparency of Amazon on its carbon footprint.
Agencies cross-referenced "public data and estimates" to obtain an "order of magnitude" for Amazon's data storage activity. According to their calculations, it generated "55.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2018, the equivalent of Portugal's emissions".
Jeff Bezos announced on September 19 the initiative "The Climate Pledge", a campaign to achieve ten years ahead of the climate commitments of the Paris agreement.
The associations also accuse the American group of concealing for fiscal reasons a large part of its turnover in France.
"Not only does this have negative impacts on the state's tax revenues, but it also helps to strengthen Amazon's dominant position vis-à-vis its competitors, who pay more taxes in proportion to their activity," commented Raphael Pradeau, spokesman for Attac, quoted in a statement.
On the employment side, the authors of the report deplore the massive use of precarious contracts, "especially during the holiday season" at the end of the year.
In France, former Secretary of State for Digital Mounir Mahjoubi Friday accused Amazon of having "destroyed 7,900 jobs" in the territory.
© 2019 AFP