UPS Corporate Responsibility

Environment

Brown on the Outside, Green on the Inside

What’s good for business needn’t be bad for the planet. On the contrary, at UPS we believe that sound business practices and strategies can lead to a stronger, healthier environment. UPS aggressively pursues technologies and processes that save energy and natural resources while reducing emissions and other waste products.

Our example proves that working green and working smart are synonymous, and that they benefit people, the planet and profitability.

Green Fleets

Fuel conservation has been a priority at UPS since the early days of the company. In the 1930s, UPS pioneered the use of electric-powered vehicles in New York City, beginning the company’s legacy of pursuing cleaner and more efficient alternative fuels.

Today, UPS operates the largest private alternative fuel-fleet in the transportation industry, including hybrid electric and hydraulic hybrid, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, fuel cell, and electric vehicles. Through the years, countless resources and time have been devoted to numerous programs and technologies to help us meet our goal of increased fuel efficiency.

UPS operates 282 aircraft, representing the ninth largest fleet in the world. We reduce our impact on the environment by operating efficient aircraft and aggressively managing aircraft and air hub operations.

Fuel management and conservation is just one of the many ways we provide optimal service and value to our customers while minimizing our impact on the environment.

Saving with Smarts

We increase efficiency and reduce our resource consumption through innovative and intelligent business practices and operational procedures. These include:

• Single Network, Smaller Footprint: UPS has the most integrated network in the business. An integrated network is more efficient: one driver and one vehicle for air, ground and international shipping. Some competitors use three drivers — and three trucks — to handle the same volume, doubling or tripling their environmental footprint.
• Package Flow Technology: Effectively and efficiently delivering 15.6 million packages and documents a day takes a lot of planning. UPS has implemented several tools and procedures, called Package Flow Technologies, to optimize delivery routes. A proprietary suite of hardware and software tools allows UPS to plan the most effective route before a package is even loaded into a delivery vehicle. Package Flow Technology minimizes miles on drivers’ daily routes. Fewer miles traveled reduces our fuel use and emissions.
• Delivery Information Acquisition Device: The DIAD is a hand-held computer that our drivers carry to electronically record delivery information, including recipient signature. The DIAD, used in 49 countries, eliminates the use of 84 million sheets of paper, saving 7,308 trees per year.
  
• Intelligent Airline Logistics: As the operator of the world’s ninth-largest airline, UPS applies its passion for innovation to reduce our environmental impact. For instance, UPS is the first U.S.-based air carrier to use the Lido Flight Planning System, which calculates the most efficient route between two points, based on weather, winds, terrain and other factors.
  
  UPS’s air fleet has achieved significant fuel, noise and emissions reductions by using a technique called Continuous Descent Approach (CDA). UPS estimates CDA can reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 34 percent, noise emissions by 30 percent and fuel consumption by 40-70 gallons per flight. That’s a savings of over 1 million gallons per year annually.
• Green Operational Facilities: Our plant engineers consistently review new technology and methods to improve our efficiency and lessen our environmental imprint. Some examples:
  • UPS Worldport™, UPS’s all-points international air hub in Louisville, was designed to reduce the operation’s environmental impact. Worldport’s aircraft docks allow planes to park directly next to the facility, eliminating the need to run ground tugs, dollies and other equipment required to load and unload aircraft parked on ramps.
  • In 1994, UPS started using reusable sort bags instead of plastic bags in our small-package sorting operation. Since we began using these “forever bags”, we've reduced waste by 21,500 tons.
  • Also in 1994, UPS began using a “plural component spraying system”, an innovative spray paint technology that reduced paint usage by 40 to 50 percent and decreases paint and solvent cleanup waste by 95 percent. This cost-effective system operates in all of our paint and body-shop facilities.

Recycling & Conservation

“What goes around, comes around.” This familiar saying could be the unofficial slogan for UPS's ongoing commitment to recycling and source reduction. UPS is constantly looking for new ways to reduce packaging and limit waste. Examples include:

• Responsible Packaging: Our express packaging was redesigned to eliminate bleached paper and increase the use of post-consumer recycled content. These changes not only reduced paper usage, but also reduced the amount of energy used in the manufacturing process by 12 percent. Additionally, The UPS Store® locations have an ongoing effort to encourage consumers to bring in foam packing peanuts to be reused and recycled.
• Water Conservation: The efficient use of water is essential to future commerce and quality of life. Due to its cost and scarcity in many locations, there is also a direct bottom-line benefit to reducing water use. We are committed to researching and implementing conservation initiatives such as: A vehicle washing policy that saves 365 million gallons of water annually while using an environmentally friendly wash agent 49 facilities equipped with active water reclamation systems.
• E-Waste Recycling: Computer junk, or “e-waste”, is fast becoming a significant global problem. Less than 10 percent of obsolete computers are collected for recycling. The rest of them are stored in homes and offices or disposed in landfills, where hazardous materials they contain can harm the environment. UPS has implemented its own e-waste recycling program to ensure that electronic equipment used by the company is refurbished or disposed of properly when it becomes outdated. To date, UPS has recycled more than 16.9 million pounds of electronic equipment.

UPS also helps its customers dispose of unwanted electronics. Through its Asset Recovery and Recycling Management Service, UPS Supply Chain Solutions oversees the final disposition of electronics through repair, recycling or disposal in an environmentally safe manner, all while controlling logistics-related activities

Awards & Recognition

UPS has been widely recognized for its environmental efforts. Recent examples include:

• UPS was selected for the 2008 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI), released by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): The CDP is a group that surveys the world's largest companies to obtain information on carbon emissions, identify goals for carbon reduction and gauge environmental-related risks and opportunities, and then reports them to institutional investors. The companies were asked questions in four major subject areas: Risks and Opportunities, Emissions Accounting, Performance Against Targets and Governance. Those selected have a high CDLI score, which measures their response to the survey and level of disclosure, along with the lowest carbon intensity score, a ratio of annual revenue compared to actual carbon emissions. View the entire CDLI report.
• Global Green 100 List - Uptime Institute: UPS’s IT and data operations landed the company on Uptime’s Global Green 100 list. Corporations were recognized for demonstrating a high-level commitment to increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint.
• UPS Recognized by EPA: UPS was honored with 2008 Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay Excellence Award. Selection was based on documented results that prove demonstrated creative and innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions and save fuel. Learn more about SmartWay.
  
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