How UPS Keeps the Blue Skies Green

UPS is on track to achieve some pretty ambitious sustainability goals. How are they doing it? Amongst other things, they've taken to the skies.

For a company that's so well known for its trucks, it might be surprising that in 2009 UPS's airline fleet was the largest contributor to its overall CO2 emissions (53%). For this reason, UPS has long made air fleet efficiency improvement a part of their strategic planning.

With a few seemingly simple changes (think better calculated take-offs and landings) and an always-evolving fleet, the company has been able to reduce aviation gallons burned per 100 available ton miles (2011 goals represent a 32% improvement from 1990). Simultaneously, UPS significantly cut CO2 emissions per available ton mile (UPS has achieved a 9% reduction since 2005).

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All that and UPS's comparatively young fleet (average age: 12.25 years) leads the industry in noise reduction. In fact, all of the company's 210 jet aircrafts meet 2006 noise requirements. UPS continues to invest in better service and a more environmentally efficient network to serve their growing number of customers around the world.