Building on the success of the virtual summit last year, Amazon FASTforward 2022 convened in Berlin with industry leaders, fleet operators and manufacturers, researchers, and policy experts from Europe.
At Amazon, we set ourselves an ambitious target: net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Decarbonizing our transport network is vital to meeting this target, and we are developing strategies to implement more sustainable infrastructure and technology, and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint.
But we cannot do this alone. We need to work closely with our carrier partners and players across the transportation industry to make change happen now, and transform the landscape together. That’s why last year, we launched Amazon FASTforward, a forum that brings together stakeholders across the transportation sector to jointly accelerate change.
“We founded Amazon FASTforward last year to enable us to engage with various stakeholders that will help us in the transition to net-zero carbon, because we can’t do it alone. Having Amazon FASTforward in person this year has made a huge difference from my perspective. People were able to exchange experiences, raise challenges that others may not have been aware of, and bring the carrier community together,” said Andreas Marschner, Vice President, Amazon Transportation Services, Europe.
This year’s event took place at Station Berlin on 6 October, with a parallel event staged in Orlando, Florida in the U.S. More than 550 carriers joined in-person, and more than 200 joined virtually across Europe and North America to connect with experts from industry, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), charging infrastructure and power providers, and policy makers.
“We are convinced that many of the transport flows can be operated with electric trucks, so start the journey now and you will get the early learnings, you will understand how to transform your business, and grab the business potential,” said Jessica Sandström, SVP Product Management, Volvo Truck.
In Berlin, industry leaders included:
- OEMs:
- Peter Forsberg – Head of e-Truck Solutions, Scania CV AB
- Jessica Sandström – SVP Product Management, Volvo Truck
- Michael Scheib – Head of Product Management Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Daimler Truck
- Charging infrastructure and power:
- Hadi Moussavi – CEO, Chargepoly
- Jan Petersen – Managing Director, TotalEnergies Charging Solutions Deutschland GmbH
- Rémy Garaude-Verdier – European Affairs Director, Enedis
The closing keynote was a live global session connecting Berlin and North America. Amazon executives discussed the Climate Pledge and our vision for the years ahead as we implement decarbonization strategies to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040.
“Zero carbon will require zero emission vehicles. The only way we will reach this is to work together; it is vital we identify opportunities where we can collaborate. This is why events such as Amazon FASTforward are so important, they provide an opportunity for the industry to come together as one.” said Helder Velho, Vice President, Surface Transportation, Amazon Transportation Services, Europe.
Highlights of the event included an exhibition showcasing electric trucks from Volvo and Daimler, electric vans from Rivian and Daimler, electric cargo bikes from Citkar and Mubea, and charging stations from Chargepoly and Tritium.
The finale featured the Sustainable Fleet Awards Ceremony, celebrating carrier action towards transportation decarbonization. Sixty-eight companies were nominated across five categories: the Early Mover award recognized new carriers transitioning away from fossil fuels; the Scale Champion award celebrated carrier action to rapidly scale-up alternative fuel operations; and the Mile Master award recognized leadership in sustainable transportation from carriers who exceeded performance targets and delivered the highest non-diesel distance. New to the awards this year, we celebrated carrier fleet optimization and fuel economy with the Sustainable Streamliner award; as well as sustainable action via intermodal transportation with the Mode Master award.
Our carriers and partners shared their impressions of FASTforward:
“Now is the right time to start this (electric vehicles), to try them, to see how it goes and where we will have issues. As a carrier, I feel like a pioneer to be part of this new project.” Andrius Zubavicius – Co-owner, Gemma Express
“This is an occasion to speak with people who are really involved and have ideas, and know what we should do, so it is a big support for carriers.” Szymon Kozanecki – General Manager, Growing Eco Sp. z o.o.
“With the help of Amazon and a seminar like this one, many questions that we have as carriers can be answered.” Dario Chiarelli – Supervisor Operations Linehaul Planning, Nord Roma Terminal SRL
“It was good to hear how industry experts come back to us with answers to our questions.” Calum Waterfield – Key Account Manager, Codognotto s.p.a.
“Having won the Mode Master Award is motivating and inspiring, it recognizes the work that we have done in the past year.” Alex Schroffenegger – Sales & Business Developer, Fercam s.p.a.
