UPS gives big bucks to green causes
Thu, Nov 12 2009 at 5:21 PM EST
Read more: SHIPPING, SUSTAINABILITY
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images What can brown do for you? Go green.
The United Parcel Service’s charitable arm has earmarked more than $1 million in grants to environmental organizations, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.
And it is just the latest eco-friendly move for the world’s largest package delivery service, which has focused on its sustainability measures in recent years.
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DiggRecipients of the $1 million awards include the Nature Conservancy, which received $250,000 for reforestation in Kenya and for the development of a carbon offset program in Brazil, as well as the first stage of a climate change assessment in China.
Keep America Beautiful was awarded $200,000 for its 2010 Community Improvement program that focuses on recycling, conservation and education. The World Resource Initiative also received $200,000, to support its Green House Gas Protocol program, which promotes public reporting of corporate greenhouse gas emissions. The organization also plans to use part of the funding for its Green Supply Chain program, which is designed to strengthen eco-consciousness in the supply chain industry in China.
Other recipients include:
• Earth Day Network, which received $150,000 to put toward its National Civil Education Project.
• The National Park Foundation, which received $150,000 for the First Bloom youth education program, which provides school children with hands-on plant projects and lessons.
• The National Arbor Day Foundation, awarded $50,000 for reforestation efforts in California’s Plumas National Forest, which was damaged by recent fires.
• The National Council for Science and the Environment, which received $90,000 for its Campus to Careers green jobs internship program. The council will also use the funds to offer sponsorships for the National New Green Economy Conference in January 2010.
In recent years, UPS — which delivered 3.9 billion packages in 2008 — has tried to bolster its sustainability practices.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would cut its airplanes’ greenhouse gas emissions 42 percent from 1990 levels over the next 10 years. It also said it would invest in fuel-efficient airplanes, begin using biofuel, reduce the amount of time airplanes spend idling on the runway and optimize flight routes to cut CO2 emissions.
"We believe this is important not just for UPS but also for our customers and society," UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis wrote in the company’s sustainability report.
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