UPS sets new eco-target, opens new Portland facility

UPS has set a new automotive goal to improve the fuel consumption of its entire US package delivery fleet by 20% between 2000 and 2020.

The new target build on gains the company has already made by increasing its US miles per gallon by 10% between 2000 and 2009, and applies to a US ground fleet of 60,000 vehicles. 

Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president and the executive responsible for UPS’s sustainability program, said: "This new goal for the next decade is an important milestone in UPS’s continuing dedication to finding and using new technology and processes that help us meet our customers‘ needs in a sustainable way."

In 2009, UPS drivers logged 77.3 million more miles than in 2000, yet fuel consumption dropped by 3.2 million gallons. Fuel usage decreased due to improved vehicle technology, effective vehicle maintenance procedures, fuel conservation efforts, sophisticated routing technology and operational initiatives such as minimising engine idling, as well as alternative fuel technology and vehicle deployments.

The automotive goal complements UPS’s announcement last year that it will improve the carbon efficiency of its airline by an additional 20% by 2020, for a cumulative reduction of 42% since 1990. The airline represents 53% of the company’s global carbon footprint.

The company’s achievements and objectives in 2009 include:

• UPS became the first major global package carrier to offer a carbon neutral service for deliveries in the US.

• UPS deployed 245 new ‘green‘ vehicles running on compressed natural gas, adding to a fleet of nearly 2,000 alternative fuel vehicles.

• UPS and ten other members of the Air Transportation Association of America signed a memorandum of understanding with two potential aviation biofuel developers.

In other news, UPS has opened a new hi-tech facility to serve Portland in Oregon.