Logistics Service Meest Reminds Amazon Sellers: Is CPF Certification a Hidden Traffic Entry?
On the Amazon platform, the rising costs of in-station advertising have become a major headache for many sellers. However, Amazon has adjusted its promotion strategy to advance the “Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF)” program, giving priority display and traffic to products that meet environmental standards. As a result, products without CPF certification struggle to obtain the same level of traffic even with substantial advertising budgets.
CPF certification rigorously evaluates a product’s environmental attributes, covering aspects such as carbon footprint, sustainable materials, energy efficiency, and fair trade. Certified products receive an exclusive label and are showcased on Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly product page. Additionally, Amazon’s recommendation algorithm favors these products, prioritizing them in environmentally related searches and browsing, while allocating more resources in keyword advertising. This leads to CPF-certified products having 15%-20% higher ad click-through rates and 25% higher conversion rates compared to non-certified products.
During major promotions, CPF-certified products also gain more exposure. During the 2023 Prime Day, these products saw a 20%-30% increase in exposure, with some products experiencing sales growth exceeding 100%. Amazon also highlights CPF-certified products in sustainability-themed campaigns such as Earth Day. According to the 2024 Amazon Global Selling Cross-Border Summit, businesses that joined the CPF program saw an average sales increase of over 12% after one year, with 100 million customers shifting to purchasing climate-friendly products.
With the rise of the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) trend, low-carbon and environmental practices have become a competitive barrier. Globally, 83% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly products. Not only Amazon but also other cross-border e-commerce platforms like Walmart, eBay, and Shopify are favoring environmentally friendly products, launching their own eco-programs and product sections. This is driven by increasing consumer demand for green products and the pressure of tightening global environmental regulations. For example, markets such as the EU, the U.S., Japan, and the UK have introduced numerous ESG-related policies and regulations, including carbon tariffs, plastic taxes, packaging laws, and zero-emission regulations. Non-compliance can lead to severe consequences, including fines, product 下架 (removal), market bans, and damaged brand reputation. Therefore, platforms need to promote eco-friendly products to mitigate policy risks.
Facing this trend, cross-border e-commerce sellers need to lay out early and seize the opportunities. On the product side, sellers should promote product greening and sustainability, develop eco-friendly products, obtain international certifications such as FSC, Fair Trade, and Energy Star, and enhance product competitiveness. At the same time, they should focus on niche markets and launch eco-themed products for markets with strict ESG requirements to meet consumers’ concerns about social responsibility.
On the operational side, sellers need to optimize their supply chains and logistics, achieve supply chain transparency, select suppliers that meet ESG standards, and avoid reputation risks. They should choose green logistics, adopt new energy logistics vehicles, optimize transportation routes to reduce carbon emissions, and use recyclable and biodegradable eco-packaging. Additionally, they should pay attention to policies and compliance, closely monitor ESG policies in target countries, obtain relevant certifications in advance, regularly review product and operational processes to ensure compliance with ESG standards, and establish a rapid response mechanism to address non-compliance issues.
Currently, there is a large number of Chinese cross-border e-commerce enterprises with severe product homogeneity and intensifying price wars. How to stand out in the competition? ESG provides a direction worth considering. As a reliable logistics partner, Meest logistics services can help sellers navigate the environmental wave and achieve sustainable development.
