UPS Surpasses Four 2020 Goals One Year Ahead of Schedule
July 1, 2020 - On June 30, 2020 UPS released its 18th annual Sustainability Report, “Accelerating Sustainable Solutions.” The digital Report is fully interactive and details efforts during 2019 to advance the company’s 2020 and 2025 sustainability goals in alignment with its enterprise strategy.
Most notable is surpassing four goals one year ahead of schedule, including:
- $123.8 million in charitable contributions,
- 21.7 million employee volunteer hours,
- 15.4 million trees planted, and,
- a 3.1% reduction in auto accident frequency.
“UPS established sustainability goals in 2016 to address our environmental impacts, advance industry-leading safety programs, and strengthen the communities where we live and work,” said Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, UPS chief sustainability officer (CSO) and vice president of environmental affairs. “We believe our customers and stakeholders deserve the most credible information about our sustainability performance. That’s why we are an industry leader in comprehensive sustainability reporting and disclosure that meets global standards.”
In addition, UPS is expanding our disclosure for investors by introducing our first Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) report. The report allows investors to more easily compare companies within and across industries. It also highlights UPS’s commitment to further align business imperatives with sustainability strategies, including the company’s ongoing investments in alternative fuels.
In the last decade, UPS has invested more than $1 billion in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and supporting infrastructure. The company is now the largest user of renewable natural gas in the transportation industry and has a specialized alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet of more than 10,300 vehicles.
Recently, UPS announced plans to purchase more than 6,000 natural gas trucks through 2022. And, in January, UPS announced an investment in the UK-based technology startup Arrival and committed to buy 10,000 of its electric vehicles.
The UPS Foundation Surpasses Goals
Working in concert with UPS Sustainability programs, The UPS Foundation supports both environmental and social goals, and today also announced the company has surpassed tree planting and employee volunteer goals. Since 2015, more than 15.4 million trees have been planted in 58 countries, helping to provide sources of food, jobs, protection from weather, climate events and erosion, and cleaner air for generations to come. The achievement is the result of UPS employee engagement and collaboration with leading environmental non-profit organizations supported by funding from The UPS Foundation, including the National Arbor Day Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Earth Day Network, Keep America Beautiful, National Park Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund.
Likewise, the company has surpassed its goals for employee volunteerism fueled by a 60 percent increase in volunteer hours since 2011, providing volunteer hours representing more than $533 million in support to thousands of non-profit organizations around the world. UPS was recently named a 2020 honoree of The Civic 50 by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. The award recognizes UPS as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the U.S.
Also in the area of social responsibility, UPS has taken action to address racial inequality by mobilizing its workforce and network of non-profit organizations to drive meaningful results. New, focused efforts include support of legislation against hate crimes, funding for programming to support employment, education, small businesses, advocacy, and reform, and a new pledge of one million UPS employee volunteer hours to support mentorship and educational programming in underserved Black communities.
As a proud leader in corporate sustainability, UPS has issued an annual sustainability report every year since 2003 and sought external assurance annually since 2009. UPS completed its first materiality assessment in 2011 and continues its legacy of transparency and disclosure by reporting to the Comprehensive level of the GRI Standards framework. The separate GRI Content Index, externally assured by Deloitte & Touche LLP, provides details about UPS’s sustainability management approach, data and policies.
Review UPS’s latest Sustainability Report by clicking here.
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