Amazon Echo Buds Wireless Earbuds User Guide
- June 10, 2024
- Amazon
Table of Contents
Echo Buds Wireless Earbuds
User Guide
Product Sustainability Fact Sheet
Echo Buds Wireless Earbuds
Echo Buds
Updated May 2023 – for US only
Designed for Sustainability
We’re working to make Amazon devices more sustainable—from how we build them to how customers use and eventually retire them.
Carbon Footprint
9.3kg CO2e life cycle carbon emissions
Materials
Plastic in case made from 56% post-consumer recycled plastic
Packaging
100% recyclable (shipping packaging not included)
Energy
We invest in renewable energy equivalent to this device’s electricity usage
Life Cycle
We consider sustainability in every stage of a device’s life cycle—from
sourcing raw materials to end-of-life.
Echo Buds life cycle: 9.3kg CO2e
Comparison Against Baseline
To assess this device’s carbon footprint, we compare its emissions to a
baseline device without carbon reduction features. This helps us track our
progress in reducing this device’s carbon footprint.
Life Cycle Carbon Emissions (kg CO2e)
This product’s biogenic carbon emissions of 0.27kg CO2e are included in the total footprint calculation. The total biogenic carbon content in this product is 0.05kgC.
Materials and Manufacturing
We account for the extraction, production, and transportation of raw materials, as well as the manufacturing, transporting, and assembling of all parts.
Recycled Materials
This device is made from 48% recycled materials. The plastic in the case is made from 56% post-consumer recycled plastic. We incorporate recycled fabrics, plastics, and metals into many new Amazon devices, giving new life to materials.
Recyclable Packaging
This device has 100% recyclable packaging. 97% of this device’s packaging is made of wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.
Chemical Safety
Through our partnership with ChemFORWARD, we’re collaborating with industry peers to proactively identify harmful chemicals and safer alternatives ahead of regulations.
Suppliers
Several of our supplier sites—which provide final assembly for some of our
most popular Echo, Kindle, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV devices—have achieved UL
Zero Waste to Landfill Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification. This means our
suppliers handle waste in environmentally responsible ways, diverting more
than 90% of their facility’s waste from the landfill through methods other
than waste to energy.
Transportation
We account for an average inbound and outbound trip that is representative of an average device or accessory. This includes transporting the product from final assembly to the end customer.
Amazon Commitment
Delivering for our global customers requires Amazon to rely on a variety of transportation solutions for long and short distances. Decarbonizing our transportation network is a key part of meeting The Climate Pledge by 2040. That’s why we’re actively transforming our fleet network and operations.
Product Use
We determine the expected energy consumption of a device over its lifetime and calculate the carbon emissions associated with the use of our devices.
Renewable Energy
In 2020, Amazon became the first consumer electronics company to commit to addressing the electricity used by our devices through renewable energy development, starting with Echo devices. We’re making investments in additional wind and solar farm capacity that, by 2025, will be equal to the energy use of Echo, Fire TV, and Ring devices worldwide.
Alexa
With the Alexa Energy Dashboard, customers can view estimated energy usage for their compatible thermostats and water heaters; plus, they can see a forecast of when cleaner energy is available, so customers can plan ahead for energy- intensive activities like running the dishwasher or dryer. Customers can also manage the energy use of their compatible connected devices using Routines and Hunches. Routines are short cuts for Alexa, saving you time by grouping together a bunch of actions so you don’t have to ask for each one individually. For example, you can set the “Alexa, good night” Routine to turn off all your porch lights at once. Hunches is a feature that can help you save energy without even thinking about it. Now, if Alexa has a hunch that you forgot to turn off a light and no one is home or everyone went to bed, Alexa can automatically turn it off for you.
End-of-Life
To model end-of-life emissions, we estimate the ratio of end products that are
sent to each disposal pathway including recycling, combustion, and landfill.
We also account for any emissions required to transport and/or treat the
materials.
Durability
We design our devices with best-in-class reliability models, so they’re more
resilient and last longer.
We also release over-the-air software updates for our customers’ devices so
they don’t need to replace them as often.
Trade-in & Recycling
We make it easy for you to retire your devices. Using Amazon Trade-In, you can trade-in your old devices for a gift card. Your retired devices will then be either refurbished and re-sold, or recycled.
Methodology
Our approach to measuring a product’s carbon footprint
To meet The Climate Pledge goal to be net-zero carbon by 2040, we measure and
estimate this product’s carbon footprint, and identify opportunities to reduce
its carbon emissions. Our life cycle assessment (“LCA”) models align with
internationally recognized standards, like the Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”)
Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard2 and
International Standards Organization (“ISO”) 140673. Our methodology and
product carbon footprint results are reviewed by the Carbon Trust with
reasonable assurance. All carbon footprint numbers are estimates and we
continuously improve our methodology as the science and data available to us
evolve.
What’s in an Amazon device’s product carbon footprint?
We calculate this product’s carbon footprint throughout its life cycle
stages, including materials and manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-
of-life. Two carbon footprint metrics are considered: 1) the total carbon
emissions across all life cycle stages of one device or accessory (in
kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, or kg CO2e), and 2) the average carbon
emissions per year used of the estimated device lifetime, in kg CO2e/use-year.
Materials and Manufacturing: We calculate the carbon emissions from
material and manufacturing based on the list of raw materials and components
to manufacture a product, namely the bill of materials. We account for the
emissions from the extraction, production, and transportation of raw
materials, as well as the manufacturing, transporting, and assembling of all
parts. For certain components and materials, we may collect primary data from
our suppliers to supplement our industry average data, collected from a mix
of commercially and publicly available LCA databases.
Transportation: We estimate the emissions of transporting the product
from final assembly to our end customer using actual or best estimated average
transportation distances and transportation modes for each device or
accessory. Use: We calculate the emissions associated with the use (i.e.,
electricity consumption) of this product by multiplying the total electricity
consumption over a device’s estimated lifetime with the carbon emissions from
the generation of 1 kWh electricity (the grid emission factor). The total
energy consumption of a device is based on the average customer’s power
consumption and estimated time spent in various modes of operation like
playing music, playing video, idle, and low power mode. A specific customer
may have a higher or lower use has footprint associated with their device
depending on their specific usage patterns. We use country-specific grid
emission factors to account for the regional variations in electricity grid
mix. Learn more about how Amazon plans to decarbonize and
neutralize the use phase of our connected devices by 2040.
End-of-Life: For end-of-life emissions, we account for any emissions
required to transport and/or treat the materials destined to each disposal
pathway (e.g., recycling, combustion, landfill).
How do we use the product carbon footprint?
The footprint helps us identify carbon reduction opportunities across this
product’s various life cycle stages. In addition, we use it to communicate our
carbon reduction progress over time —this is included in the calculation of
Amazon’s corporate carbon footprint. Learn more about Amazon corporate carbon
footprint methodology.
How often do we update a product’s carbon footprint?
After we launch a new product, we track and audit the carbon emissions of
all life cycle phases of our devices. Product sustainability fact sheets are
updated when we discover new information that changes the estimated carbon
footprint of a device by more than 5% or if it materially changes our
estimated reduction generation over generation.
Learn more about our product carbon footprint methodology and limitations in
our full methodology document.
Definitions:
Carbon released as carbon dioxide or methane from combustion or decomposition of biomass or bio-based products. Biogenic carbon emissions: A methodology to assess the environmental impact (e.g., carbon emissions) associated with life cycle stages of a product—from raw material extraction and processing, through production, use, and disposal. Life Cycle Assessment: Endnotes 1Carbon Trust Certification Number: CERT-13369; LCA data version 30 November 2022 published by Carbon Trust 2Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard: https://ghgprotocol.org/product-standard published by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
3International Standards Organization (“ISO”) 14067:2018 Greenhouse gases—Carbon footprint of products—Requirements and guidelines for quantification:
https://www.iso.org/standard/71206.html published by International Standards Organization
This device is a Climate Pledge Friendly product. We partner with trusted third-party certifications and create our own certifications like Compact by Design and Pre-owned Certified to highlight products that meet sustainability standards.
The product carbon footprint of this device has been certified by the Carbon Trust1.
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
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