Monday 27 May 2019

UPS turns to rubbish gas to clean up its emissions

UPS has made what it claims is the largest purchase to renewable natural gas (RNG) in the US.

The delivery giant is buying 170 million gallons equivalent of the fuel source for its vehicles, produced naturally from bio sources like landfills, dairy farms and wastewater treatment facilities.

The contract runs through 2025 and will support UPS' target to increase alternative fuel consumption to 40% of total road fuel purchases by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions of its ground fleet by 12% by 2025.

UPS has used more than 28 million gallons of RNG in its ground fleet since 2014.

By switching from diesel to RNG, UPS vehicles fuelling at 18 company-owned and operated natural gas stations across 12 states will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than one million metric tons over the lifetime of the agreement.

That's equivalent to planting 17 million trees, removing 228,000 cars off the road or recycling 374,000 tons of waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill.

Mike Casteel, UPS Director of Fleet Procurement said: “The world has a trash problem. And the world has an emissions problem. Renewable natural gas, produced naturally from bio sources such as landfills and dairy farms, not only turns trash to gas, but it turns it into clean gas.

“Since RNG is supported by existing national infrastructure used to transport natural gas, it's a winning solution that will help UPS to reach our ambitions sustainability goals. A the same time, we hope our unprecedented seven-year commitment serves as a catalyst for wider adoption of RNG by other companies.”