FedEx and EIT Climate-KIC Name Four City Initiatives Selected for Funding in Sustainable Mobility Call

LONDON, March 6, 2023 /3BL Media/ - FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE),EIT Climate-KIC and EIT Digital announce today the four cities selected to benefit from project funding as part of their Sustainable Cities Climate Impact Challenge.  

Following a call for proposals, launched in November 2022, the challenge will award a total of $240,000 towards the implementation of solutions that can contribute to the decarbonization of transport in cities.  

The winning projects were selected by EIT Climate-KIC and EIT Digital for their innovative approaches, strong city government support, and replicability to scale to other cities. Proposals from Hackney (UK), Espoo (Finland), Olot (Spain) and Karasu (Turkey) will each receive funding to help accelerate their transition towards active, shared, and electric mobility.

“Adopting ambitious mobility measures locally can have significant health and economic benefits, which can help make the case for regional, national, and EU-wide action. Many municipalities are now experimenting with innovative approaches and solutions that contribute to reaching net-zero goals. These pilot projects, supported with charitable funding from FedEx, will hopefully demonstrate how engaged communities can pave the way towards change,” says Thomas Osdoba, Director of Net Zero Cities and Senior Advisor on Cities for EIT Climate-KIC.

“While we at FedEx remain focused on removing carbon emissions from our own operations, our charitable giving platform allows us to simultaneously support the efforts of non-profit organisations. Thanks to our global presence we’ve built up a successful portfolio of collaborations with non-profits – all striving to achieve more sustainable transport beyond logistics. We collaborated with EIT Digital and EIT Climate-KIC to co-create this project in Europe where, we hope, it will positively contribute to wider climate objectives,” said Vinay d’Souza, Senior Vice President Planning and Engineering, FedEx Express Europe.

“This open call to cities, conceived together with FedEx, has been designed to leverage the expertise and resources of two Knowledge and Innovation Communities – EIT Digital and Climate-KIC. The volume and quality of the submissions received in response to this first call demonstrates the commitment from cities in the region to cut carbon emissions,” says Jyrki Karasvirta, Operations Lead of EIT Digital.

The initiatives chosen for implementation all have an aspect of promoting active public mobility – with a particular focus on cycling. Read more about projects here which include expanding cargo bike usage, increasing cycling uptake, installing secure, long-term cycling storage, and creating safe travel corridors for citizens.

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenue of $94 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively, and innovating digitally under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 550,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit about.fedex.com.

About EIT Climate-KIC

EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s climate innovation initiative, working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and resilient world by enabling systems transformation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, it operates from 13 hubs across Europe and is active in 39 countries. EIT Climate-KIC was established in 2010 and is predominately funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), it brings together more than 400 partners from business, academia, the public and non-profit sectors to create networks of expertise, through which innovative products, services and systems are developed, brought to market and scaled-up for impact.

About EIT Digital

EIT Digital is a leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation supporting the creation of a strong digital Europe. We believe in making and shaping a competitive digital Europe that is inclusive, fair and sustainable, and aim at global impact through European innovation fueled by entrepreneurial talent and digital technology.

We embody the future of innovation by mobilizing a pan-European multi-stakeholder open-innovation ecosystem of top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities, and research institutes, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and investors address the technology, talent, skills, business, and capital needs of digital entrepreneurship.

We build the next generation of digital ventures, digital products and services, and breed digital entrepreneurial talent, helping business and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support.