UPS today released its 12th annual Sustainability Report announcing that in addition to reducing overall carbon emissions in 2013, the company also met its 2016 goal of reducing its air and ground fleet's carbon intensity by 10 percent three years early.  Thus, the company has set a new goal to achieve a 20 percent reduction in carbon intensity from transportation by 2020.    

The 2013 report documents UPS's ongoing efforts to increase sustainability through its "Committed to More™" approach.  Noting that sustainability is often discussed in terms of doing less, UPS is committed to efficiently providing more – for customers, the environment, and communities around the world.  The report also highlights the continued achievement of the company's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals, as well as the measureable impact of its humanitarian initiatives.  

"As a global logistics company dependent on vehicles and fuel to move nearly 17 million packages and documents a day, sustainability and growth are inextricably linked," said Scott Davis, UPS chairman and chief executive officer.  "Our ability to grow our global shipping volumes and reduce total carbon emissions should be a signal to business that it is possible to do more for the environment while also serving more customers and adding more value."

The complete report is available at the company's new sustainability websiteups.com/sustainability. 

More Reductions in Carbon Emissions

For the second year in a row, successful execution of UPS's global GHG reduction strategy allowed the company to deliver more goods, while generating fewer emissions. In 2013, absolute carbon emissions decreased 1.5 percent from 2012, even as global shipping volume increased 3.9 percent during the same timeframe. 

More Lower-Emission Vehicles Hitting the Road 

UPS's current 3,647 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide continue to drive GHG reductions and serve as a "rolling laboratory" to test, optimize and deploy new-generation vehicles.  In 2013, UPS ramped up use of cleaner-burning natural gas vehicles across the country, adding 249 heavy-duty tractors fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) by year's end.  The company is on target to deploy more than 1,000 LNG tractors by the end of 2014.  Additionally, UPS's current natural gas tractor fleet is running more than 2 million miles per week.

In 2013, UPS's alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide logged 55 million miles and avoided the use of 5.8 million gallons of conventional gasoline and diesel.  Since 2000, the fleet has logged more than 350 million miles and avoided using 34.5 million gallons of conventional gasoline and diesel.  The savings put the company well on its way to reaching a goal of driving 1 billion miles in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles by the end of 2017.

More Than 1.5M Gallons of Fuel Saved Annually through ORION Route Optimization

Introduced in 2013, the On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION) system is the brains and backbone of UPS's GHG reduction strategy.  ORION uses algorithms and fleet telematics to determine the optimum routes for UPS drivers to pick up and deliver that day's packages.  Using ORION, UPS optimized 10,000 routes in 2013 which is expected to result in savings of more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel and 14,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

More Sustainable Supply Chain Options for Customers

To meet growing customer demand for sustainable options that balance speed and cost while doing more for the environment and society, UPS continues to expand sustainable shipping and supply chain offerings to help customers do more to measure, mitigate and manage their climate impacts:

• Carbon Impact Analysis - UPS can calculate how many metric tons of greenhouse gases arise from customer's shipping activity and advise on how to operate their logistics more efficiently.
• UPS My Choice® and UPS Smart Pickup® - More than 9 million consumers have signed up for UPS My Choice and more than 100,000 registered for UPS Smart Pickup. These online services adjust delivery and pickup dates or locations, providing convenience and avoiding unnecessary miles of driving (and greenhouse gases) associated with unsuccessful delivery attempts.
• Validated Carbon Neutral Shipping – UPS carbon neutral shipping allows customers in an easy, low-cost way to offset carbon emissions associated with shipping packages, documents, cargo or freight to any location across the globe.  UPS's carbon calculation methodology is certified by The CarbonNeutral Company and verified by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS); offsets include tree planting and biomethane capture projects that benefit the environment directly.

More Resilient Global Communities through Humanitarian Aid

UPS provides financial support to thousands of non-profit organizations that help communities become safer, more environmentally aware and more prepared to withstand and respond to disasters. In 2013, UPS in-kind and cash support donations for humanitarian relief totaledUS$7.5 million, enabling 250 humanitarian shipments across 46 countries, including:

• Pledging US$1 million to humanitarian relief funding to aid Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts inthe Philippines and donated 15,000 pounds of medicines and medical equipment and 20,000 tarps to cover roofs of severely damaged homes.
• Transporting in-kind more than 860,000 pounds of food, supplies and winter clothing for Syrian refugee support, including a UPS relief flight that carried 220,000 pounds of this emergency aid (food, water, health and sanitation kits) to Iraq to help displaced children and families.
• Improving the tracking capabilities for emergency relief supplies at the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya.
• Helping Superstorm Sandy victims continue to recover economically and rebuild homes in 2013 following US$1.75 million in funds and in-kind support.
• Granting US$460,000 to raise awareness among Turkish small business owners in Istanbul, Turkey, about disaster risks, how to prepare for them and how to respond.