Sustainable Shipping

By Jennipher Murphy, Novice Explorer

Travel and tourism have, for some time, offered customers an option to offset their carbon and now shipping has joined the sustainability initiative. UPS just announced expansion of their carbon neutral shipping program. What does this mean? Starting July 12, a customer can purchase offsets to neutralize carbon created from shipping their packages. UPS calculates the carbon (CO2) impact created from the individual customer’s shipment and then charges between .05-.75 cents per package to offset this carbon. The customer chooses whether or not to participate in this program. These offsets are purchased from Garcia River Forest Climate Action Project, a company overseen by The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. 

Is UPS reducing their own carbon emissions as well as offering this opportunity to their customers or is this just another business marketing ploy? According to their website, UPS takes their leadership role seriously and fully accepts ownership of their responsibility to minimize impact. This is described in detail in their environmental philosophy where they list alternative fuel fleets, lighting upgrade projects, recycling and e-waste programs as part of the reduction plan. Upon further investigation, it does appear that they are committed to this environmental policy by following through with initiatives. One example shown in a 2008 press release , announces that UPS purchased hydraulic hybrid vehicles, making this move a first in their industry. Another example is UPS helping customers reorganize delivery routes through a computer software program offered by a UPS subsidiary, UPS Logistics Technology, making routes more efficient, saving miles and gas. Balancing the reduction of carbon emissions with purchasing offsets can lead to sustainable delivery practices.

The Offset Project supports ideas like this but when businesses market their “green” strategies, as consumers, it is important to verify that the business is reducing their own carbon emissions before jumping on the carbon offset bandwagon.