UPS cut fuel usage by 3.3 per cent in the USA last year despite a 1.8 per cent in the number ofpackages delivered, according to its newly-published Sustainability Report for 2010.
The company attributed the improvement to deploying the right vehicle on the right routes,using technology to minimise the miles driven and focusing on how behaviour can affect fuel use.
Technology enabled UPS to avoid driving more than 63.5 million miles in 2010 with anassociated emissions avoidance of 68,000 metric tonnes. Routing technology enabled UPS to reducethe miles flown and driven, loads were optimised so that packages could be delivered with fewervehicles on the road, while telematics, which provides data on how a vehicle performs mechanicallyas well as on a driver’s route and behaviour behind the wheel, saved 15.4 million minutes of engineidling time in 2010.
“Fuel represents not only a major cost factor for UPS but also a major source of emissionsthat impact the environment. It makes sense for UPS to report extensively on how the companyis doing its best to lower its net fuel use,” said Scott Wicker, UPS chief sustainability officer.
In this year’s report, UPS increased its reporting in several areas. Water usage, Scope 3emissions, the financial value of in-kind transportation donations to charity, details about carbonoffset purchases and the company’s long-term “decarbonisation” strategy were all detailed.
Among other highlights, UPS’s alternative fuel/advanced technology vehicle fleet topped 200million miles driven since 2000, and more than 5,289 employees now are included in the UPS Circleof Honor, which recognises drivers who have driven for 25 years without an avoidable accident.
In addition, total charitable contributions reached $97.1 million in 2010, employees logged1.2 million volunteer hours in 2010, and UPS’s greenhouse gas inventory (direct and indirect) wasverified and certified by third-parties for the first time.
UPS also became the first US corporation to use a major accounting firm, Deloitte &Touche LLP, to “assure” its sustainability report. The report also was reviewed by the GlobalReporting Initiative.
“This sustainability report outlines how UPS supports social, environmental and economicvalue not only today but for the foreseeable future,” added UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis.
