Published by Business Wire
UPS today published its latest annual Sustainability Report, becoming one of only 10 U.S. corporations registered to date this year with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to have achieved A+ status for superior transparency.
The new report summarizing UPS’s 2011 sustainability efforts received the A+ designation after meeting GRI’s reporting standards and then receiving assurance review by Deloitte & Touche LLP.
“One of the guiding principles to UPS’s sustainability strategy is our commitment to transparency,” Chairman and CEO Scott Davis wrote in the report. “We are disclosing more information than ever… We have reported our five-year progress, successes and challenges. Now, we are focused ahead.”
UPS views sustainability reporting as a valuable tool for customers, investors and other stakeholders to evaluate the performance and commitment of a company to truly sustainable business practices.
The report discloses UPS exceeded four of the seven key sustainability goals it established for 2011. The company met its goals for employee safety, auto accident frequency, aircraft emissions and full-time employee retention. The report discloses progress on goals involving efficiency of jet fuel use, employee satisfaction and charitable contributions.
Chief Sustainability Officer Scott Wicker also cited these achievements:
– Using advanced route-planning technology, UPS avoided driving 85 million miles, saving 8.4 million gallons of fuel and 83,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.
– The expanding deployment of telematics technology eliminated more than 98 million minutes of engine idling time, saving 653,000 gallons of fuel.
– UPS achieved a net reduction in U.S. domestic energy use at its facilities.
– UPS earned the highest Carbon Disclosure Project score among all U.S. companies and tied with three others for the top score in the world.
– In 2011, overall emissions declined 3.5% even though package volume grew by 1.8%.
– Employees made 100,000 pledges to act more environmentally responsible
For the first time, UPS also introduced a “materiality matrix” that maps how the company’s interests match or differ from those of other stakeholders. The matrix will be used to guide the company as it sets future sustainability priorities, Wicker added.
Also for the first time, the report provides examples of the company’s direct and indirect economic impact. Data include:
– Employee compensation and benefits – $27.6 billion.
– Taxes paid – $3.1 billion.
– Dividends paid – $2 billion.
– Education provided to employees – $17.5 million in tuition support to 14,764 students.
– Employment of 398,242 permanent employees, including 77,706 outside the United States.
– $78 million paid to small and diverse suppliers.
“Our annual sustainability report encapsulates the performance, ambitions and goals of UPS from economic, social and environmental perspectives,” explained Wicker. This year, the report also includes essays, infographics and opinion pieces on the company’s stance regarding biofuels, the future of fuels and energy, greenhouse gas management, how UPS trains its future leaders and how The UPS Foundation is meeting community needs.