FedEx Corp. claims to have reached its vehicle fuel efficiency goal five years early and saved more than $1 billion in jet fuel.
These are two of the major highlights in the company's 2016 Global Citizenship Report (GCR) whose online release was announced earlier this week.
The GCR includes annual updates on FedEx's environmental, community and economic development initiatives.
FedEx had achieved the goal to boost vehicle fuel efficiency by 30% through its “Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize” strategy. This focuses on reducing overall mileage by optimizing routes, replacing vehicles with more efficient models and revolutionizing the vehicle fleet with alternative fuel vehicles
In addition, the report includes details of the FedEx Fuel Sense program, which saved more than $1 billion in jet fuel since 2007 and avoided more than 4 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
The FedEx Fuel Sense team is charged with identifying efficiencies across the company’s aviation operations. All team members who work with aircraft are asked to adopt a fuel-efficient mindset and search out innovative ways to help save fuel.
“FedEx is committed to being a positive force in the communities we serve,” said Mitch Jackson, vice president of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, FedEx Corp. “This means advancing programs that support the environment, improving the safety of our streets and putting our global transportation network to work to provide disaster relief where it’s needed most.”
Other highlights from this year’s Global Citizenship Report include FedEx investing more than $52 million in community programs in FY15, focused on disaster relief and resilience, employment opportunities for underserved youth, and safer and more sustainable communities.
The company also unveiled its new global giving platform, FedEx Cares. FedEx also announced a commitment to invest $200 million in more than 200 communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver positive change around the world.
In terms of economic development, FedEx said a diverse workforce, supplier base and culture enabled it to better serve customers.
The company spent $6.7 billion with small, women-owned and minority-owned suppliers. Customers who sought information about the company’s corporate citizenship and carbon emissions data as part of their purchasing process accounted for $6.2 billion in FY15 revenue.
On the environmental front, FedEx entered into an agreement with Colorado-based Red Rock Biofuels to purchase alternative jet fuel made from wood waste.
Starting in 2017, FedEx will blend the first 6 million gallons of this jet fuel at our Oakland hub, ultimately producing at least 48 million gallons over an 8-year term.
The Solar Energy Industries Association ranked FedEx 12th for generating capacity and 18th for number of solar energy sites in this year’s “Solar Means Business” report. Five new solar installations came online in FY15 bringing the total to 15, helping avoid more than 4,600 metric tons of CO2e emissions.
On people-related issues, Fedex said its safety measures show continual improvement. In FY15, the Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR) improved by 4%. The Preventable Recordable Vehicle Accident Rate improved by almost 6 %.
