Inside FedEx's Emissions-Slashing Strategy
Originally Published on GreenBiz.com
Published August 20, 2012
How did one of the world's biggest air freight companies slash its aircraft emissions nearly 14 percent over the last seven years?
By using a twist on the old environmentalist's maxim of "reduce, reuse, recyle."
Instead, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) created a more customized mantra: "reduce, replace, revolutionize." In other words: reduce the use of old, inefficient technology; replace vehicles that are outmoded or not tailored to delivery needs; and plan for the future of new fuel technologies and other innovations.
“We’re encouraged by the speed with which we made the progress,” said Mitch Jackson, FedEx’s vice president for environmental affairs and sustainability, in an interview with GreenBiz. “We have been constantly on the lookout for those solutions that make sense for the future. There’s not a single solution, there’s a series of solutions.”
He was referring not just to the reduction in aircraft emissions, which allows FedEx to raise its emission reduction goals from a planned 20 percent to 30 percent by 2020, but also to the rest of achievements outlined in the company's fourth annual Global Citizenship Report. The shipping giant says it has not only achieved several major sustainability goals but has surpassed its targets. Some highlights:
- The company increased its Fedex Express vehicle fleet fuel efficiency by 16.6 percent over the past seven years -- putting it well on the way to reaching its 2020 fleet goal of 20 percent.
- It recycled 6.4 million more pounds of the waste generated at FedEx facilities in FY 2011, compared to a year earlier.
- Its international carbon neutral envelope shipping program, started this year at no additional cost to customers, is now being used on more than 200 million envelope shipments each year.
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Bruce Kennedy is an award-winning multimedia communications professional with years of experience across a wide spectrum of media platforms. He’s covered international news, including business reportage, for CNN, NPR, Reuters Television and AOL’s Daily Finance website.
