UPS sets goal to increase alternative fuel use by 2025

Atlanta-based UPS’ 15th annual sustainability report provides a complete update on the company’s sustainability efforts, including a new goal to reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 12 percent by 2025 across global ground operations, a goal developed using methodology from the Science Based Targets initiative.

Science Based Targets is a collaboration between CDP, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments with the goal of making science-based targets that allow corporations to reduce GHG emissions a standard business practice by 2020.

The use of renewable energy is critical to reach the company’s goal, causing UPS to establish three supporting targets to drive investments in renewable energy, fuels, technologies and infrastructure:

• 25 percent of the electricity it consumes will come from renewable energy sources by 2025, a significant increase from 0.2 percent in 2016;
• 40 percent of all ground fuel will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel by 2025, an increase from 19.6 percent in 2016; and
• 25 percent of new vehicles purchased annually will use alternative fuel, such as renewable natural gas from landfill methane, and be an advanced technology vehicle by 2020, up from 16 percent in 2016.  

UPS operates more than 8,300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide. The company’s fleet includes electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), propane and lightweight fuel-saving composite body vehicles. In addition to its use of alternative vehicles, UPS uses millions of gallons of lower-carbon footprint renewable diesel and renewable natural gas (RNG) in its fleet each year.

“Because of our size and scale, we know our commitments can shape markets, advance technologies and be a catalyst for infrastructure investments,” says David Abney, UPS chairman and CEO. “We rely on the ingenuity of our employees, suppliers and technology partners to help us reach goals that will transform the shipping industry and spur innovation.”

The UPS’ goal is to have a network of advanced technology vehicles and facilities powered by sustainable energy sources, including on-site solar, off site wind, renewable natural gas, renewable hydrogen and renewable diesel delivered via advanced energy system infrastructure.

Since 2009, UPS has invested more than $750 million in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations globally. The company used more than 97 million gallons of alternative and lower-carbon fuels in its ground fleet in 2016 and recently made an $18 million investment in on-site solar energy systems across eight facilities. UPS uses its rolling laboratory approach to determine which alternative fuels and technologies work best in each situation. 

These goals are highlighted in UPS’s 2016 sustainability report available at ups.com/sustainability.