It’s about people
For UPS, sustainability means more than going green – it’s about the safety and well-being of employees and stronger, more resilient communities.
The company has business resource groups (BRGs) making sure UPSers from all backgrounds have a voice and strong support network. With chapters across the world, BRGs support groups such as millennials, women in leadership, and the LGBTQ and Black communities.
UPSers also dedicate their time volunteering in their local communities. In 2011, UPSers pledged to log 20 million hours of volunteer work around the world by the end of 2020 – a target they met a year early.
Supporting causes and organizations that share its values is another element of UPS’s sustainability platform. One example is the Redress Design Awards, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition.
The organizers of the awards, which UPS has sponsored since 2011, work to educate emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques to drive growth toward a circular fashion system.
Transportation transformation
During the past decade, UPS has invested more than $1 billion in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, with more than 11,000 such vehicles in its fleet today.
In 2019, UPS announced a $450-million investment in alternative fuel technology, which included the purchase of more than 6,000 natural gas-powered trucks. And in 2020, UPS announced a commitment to purchase 10,000 electric vehicles from vehicle manufacturer Arrival.
Since 2005, UPS Airlines has reduced its carbon intensity by 13% through modernizing its fleet and improving aviation procedures.
Planes aren’t the only aircraft UPS flies. Drones have the potential to completely change the way packages are transported and delivered.
When UPS Flight Forward received the U.S. government’s first full approval to operate as a drone airline, it marked the latest chapter in a series of innovations designed to reduce miles driven, traffic congestion and carbon emissions.
Customers with common vision
UPS helps its customers achieve their sustainability goals by providing solutions to minimize their carbon footprint.
UPS Carbon Neutral enables any company enrolled in the program to offset greenhouse gas emissions from shipments of any size through regenerative projects such as environmental conservation and reforestation.
Investing in reforestation not only benefits the environment, but it also cleans water, protects against erosion and mudslides, and creates jobs.
Profitable partnerships
In Asia Pacific, UPS works with more than 200 different pickup and delivery partners to help reduce missed deliveries and return trips, which reduces congestion and pollution in dense urban centers.
In the U.S., UPS partners with Optoro, a reverse logistics solution that minimizes the environmental impact of customers returning their packages. With the meteoric rise of e-commerce, this trend is more relevant than ever.
By collaborating with environmental organizations in various locations worldwide, UPS continues to achieve its environmental protection and restoration goals.