- Sustainability Strategy and Goals
- Progress vs. Target Tracker
- Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
- Measurable Impacts
- Challenges and Areas for Improvement
- Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
- Comparisons to Industry Competitors
- Global Logistics Sector Sustainability Metrics
- What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
United Parcel Service (UPS) is the world’s largest package delivery company by volume, delivering an average of 22 million packages per day, totaling 5 billion packages in 2024, across more than 220 countries and territories, generating $91.1 billion in total revenue in fiscal year 2024. UPS’s most current sustainability disclosures are the 2024 GRI Report (published March 2025, covering calendar year 2024), the 2025 UPS Climate Change Statement (published April 2025), and the 2024 Climate Lobbying Report, together covering progress against its carbon neutrality by 2050 goal. A seven-pillar decarbonization roadmap, aligned with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) near-term targets approved in 2021, governs the company’s climate commitments.
UPS’s sustainability profile is defined by one structural reality: approximately 60% of its direct emissions originate from air operations (jet fuel combustion) and 40% from ground operations, making it structurally dependent on sustainable aviation fuel availability and ground fleet electrification simultaneously. In 2024, UPS reduced total Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 2.1% year over year, achieved 30.6% alternative fuel usage in ground operations, and sourced 15.2% of facility electricity from renewables, while missing its 2025 targets of 40% alternative fuel and 25% renewable electricity. A shareholder resolution filed in November 2025 by As You Sow challenged UPS on capital allocation misalignment, noting that emissions per package have increased since the 2020 baseline year, a material governance signal.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2025-ups-climate-change-statement.pdf
https://about.ups.com/us/en/our-impact/ups-sustainability-and-social-impact-report/delivering-for-our-planet.html
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
UPS’s sustainability strategy is structured around a seven-pillar decarbonization roadmap: Efficiency and Innovation, Fuel Transition, Asset Transition, Renewable Electricity, Carbon Offsets, Customer Products, and Public Policy Advocacy. The strategy has defined interim milestones for 2025, 2035, and a long-term carbon neutrality goal for 2050. The 2025 interim targets cover 40% alternative fuel in ground operations and 25% renewable electricity for facilities. The 2035 targets cover 100% renewable facility electricity, 30% sustainable aviation fuel in the air network, and a 50% reduction in CO₂ per package delivered from a 2020 baseline.
UPS holds SBTi near-term approved targets submitted in 2021, specifically a 12% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from ground operations by 2025 from a 2015 baseline, validated under SBTi’s 2-degree pathway. The company does not hold a full SBTi net-zero validated target, which requires coverage of Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3 categories to a 1.5-degree alignment. ESG governance is overseen by the Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee, with the Chief Sustainability Officer reporting to the CEO. Executive compensation includes ESG-linked performance metrics.
Net Zero and Carbon Emissions
UPS’s total gross Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions in 2024 were approximately 24.877 million MTCO₂e, down 2.1% from 2023, following a methodology revision in the 2024 GHG inventory that reduced Scope 3 emissions by 24% due to updated emission factors. This revision required a recalculation of both the 2020 base year and 2023 prior year for consistent comparison. Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2024 reflected an intensity improvement, but Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e emissions per package delivered increased by 5.5% compared to the 2020 baseline, driven by the growth in air operations volume, a material adverse finding against the 50% per-package reduction target for 2035.
- Total Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG (2024): approximately 24.877 million MTCO₂e; down 2.1% year over year
- Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e per package delivered (2024): up 5.5% vs. 2020 baseline; working against the 50% per-package reduction target by 2035
- Year-over-year combined CO₂e per package (ground, facility heat, and electricity, 2024): decreased by 0.091, partially offsetting air CO₂e per package increase of 0.059
- Carbon neutrality goal: 2050, covering all global operations (Scope 1, 2, and selected Scope 3)
- SBTi near-term targets: approved in 2021; 12% absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG reduction from ground operations by 2025 vs. 2015 baseline; 2-degree aligned
- Carbon intensity improvement from 2009 baseline: 48% reduction achieved by FY2023
- Volume growth from 2009 to 2023: 121%; decoupled from carbon growth over same period on an intensity basis
- Air operations share of direct emissions: approximately 60%; ground operations share: approximately 40%
- UPS is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and the Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative
- Shareholder resolution (November 2025, As You Sow): called on UPS to publish a Climate Transition Plan, citing misalignment between capital spending and stated climate commitments, and noting per-package emissions have increased since the 2020 baseline
- Capital expenditure aligned to environmental sustainability goals (2024): approximately one-third; two-thirds allocated to operational and network investments
Water Stewardship
UPS’s water strategy focuses on facility water use efficiency across its network of distribution centers, air hubs, and office facilities globally. Water use intensity is tracked and disclosed in the annual GRI Report. UPS does not publish a net positive water target or an absolute water withdrawal reduction commitment at the global system level.
- Facility water use: tracked and reported as an intensity metric per million dollars of revenue in the 2024 GRI Report
- No published absolute water withdrawal reduction target or net positive water commitment
- Water use concentrated at large hub facilities including Worldport (Louisville, Kentucky), the world’s largest fully automated package sorting facility, processing up to 416,000 packages per hour
- LEED-certified facility construction: new major facilities built to LEED standards, including water use reduction requirements
- Solar energy and facility efficiency programs: reduce cooling loads and associated water use at data centers and logistics hubs
Regenerative Agriculture
UPS has no agricultural supply chain and makes no regenerative agriculture commitments. The company’s analogous ecosystem contribution is its 50 million tree planting program, a long-term goal under the UPS Foundation and partners, of which 28 million trees had been planted since 2012 as of the most recent update. Trees are planted in partnership with conservation organizations in underforested communities and degraded watershed zones near UPS operating geographies.
- Tree planting program: 28 million trees planted since 2012; target of 50 million trees by 2030
- Tree planting partnerships: community-based conservation organizations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific
- No agricultural sourcing commitments or regenerative agriculture policy applicable to UPS’s business model
Deforestation and Biodiversity
UPS has no direct deforestation-risk commodity supply chains. Its biodiversity and land use impacts are concentrated in facility siting and construction, aviation noise and air quality, and vehicle emissions in urban delivery corridors. UPS’s SAF feedstock sourcing requirement specifies compliance with EU RED II and equivalent international sustainability criteria, excluding biomass from high-carbon-stock forests and deforestation-linked land conversion.
- SAF feedstock standard: RED II and equivalent international sustainability criteria; excludes biomass from deforestation-linked land conversion
- No deforestation commitments applicable to direct supply chains
- LEED-certified facility construction: embeds site ecology standards in all new major builds
- Tree planting program: 28 million trees planted as of 2024 toward 50 million by 2030; enhances biodiversity in underforested zones
- Urban air quality co-benefit: EV deployment in urban delivery corridors reduces NOₓ and particulate emissions from last-mile delivery operations
Packaging and Circular Economy
UPS’s circular economy strategy centers on two tracks: reusable packaging solutions for shippers and customers, and zero-waste operations at logistics facilities. UPS ReUSE, a reusable packaging program for shippers, supports closed-loop returns for e-commerce and B2B shipping, reducing single-use packaging material per shipment. UPS’s internal facility operations target zero waste to landfill at major hub and distribution center sites.
- UPS ReUSE program: reusable packaging available to commercial shippers for closed-loop B2B and e-commerce return shipments
- Zero waste to landfill: active program at major hub facilities; specific landfill diversion rates published in the 2024 GRI Report
- Reusable mesh bags: used internally at sorting hubs to replace single-use plastics in package handling
- Alternative delivery modes: e-bike and cargo bicycle delivery in more than 30 global urban markets; reduces packaging-related vehicle waste and last-mile emissions
- UPS carbon neutral shipping option: available to customers to offset package delivery emissions through verified carbon credits; supports circular carbon accounting for customers managing their own Scope 3 inventories
- ORION (On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation) routing technology: reduces total vehicle miles driven annually by 100 million miles, reducing packaging and fuel waste per delivered package
Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
UPS’s human rights framework covers its workforce of approximately 490,000 full-time and part-time employees and more than 100,000 suppliers globally. The 2024 UK Modern Slavery Act Statement, published in 2024, confirms zero tolerance for forced labor, child labor, and human trafficking across operations and supply chains. UPS’s Code of Business Conduct covers human rights, equal opportunity, health and safety, and anti-corruption for all team members and suppliers.
- 2024 UK Modern Slavery Act Statement: published; covers supply chain risk assessment, due diligence, and worker grievance mechanisms
- Code of Business Conduct: covers human rights, equal opportunity, employee well-being, and anti-corruption for all employees and agents globally
- Supplier Code of Conduct: applies to all suppliers; covers labor rights, health and safety, environmental standards, and ethics
- Workforce: approximately 490,000 full-time and part-time employees globally
- 2025 restructuring: UPS announced in 2025 the elimination of approximately 20,000 jobs and closure of 73 facilities, citing operational restructuring driven by automation and volume changes; the workforce reduction is a material social impact and governance event
- UPS Teamsters contract (2023): new five-year agreement covering approximately 340,000 US union employees; included wage increases averaging $2.75 per hour annually, improved air conditioning in delivery vehicles, and new safety protections, representing the largest wage increase in Teamsters history at the time of signing
Nutrition and Health
UPS is a logistics and transportation company with no food or beverage product portfolio and no nutrition commitments. Its health-related sustainability contributions center on employee safety at over 1,800 facilities globally, reduction of vehicle emissions in urban areas served by electric delivery vehicles and e-bikes, and temperature-controlled healthcare logistics that enable safe delivery of pharmaceutical and biologic products globally.
- No nutrition or food-related sustainability commitments
- Employee occupational health and safety: Environmental Health and Safety program governs all facilities; injury rate reduction targets are tracked and disclosed in the 2024 GRI Report
- Urban air quality co-benefit: e-bike delivery in 30+ cities and EV deployment in major urban cores reduces NOₓ and particulate emissions from last-mile delivery
- UPS Healthcare: dedicated temperature-controlled and time-sensitive logistics for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device supply chains; contributes to cold chain integrity for vaccines and biologics
Community and Social Impact
UPS’s community programs operate through the UPS Foundation, which supports disaster relief logistics, global literacy, and workforce readiness. In 2024, UPS delivered approximately 5 billion packages for 1.8 million customers globally, generating livelihoods across a supplier and partner ecosystem estimated to support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs. The 50 million tree planting program, in partnership with conservation organizations, is UPS’s most visible ecosystem restoration commitment.
- UPS Foundation: provided disaster relief logistics, community resilience support, and humanitarian aid in partnership with WFP, Red Cross, and NGO partners
- 28 million trees planted since 2012 toward a target of 50 million by 2030
- Global literacy programs: UPS Foundation has invested over $17 million in literacy education programs globally across its history
- 5 billion packages delivered in 2024 across 220+ countries
- 2025 workforce restructuring: 20,000 job eliminations and 73 facility closures announced; creates a material community impact in affected regions
- UPS’s Teamsters agreement (2023): $2.75 average hourly wage increase annually; improved heat safety measures in vehicles; new provisions for driver safety covering night delivery conditions
Governance and Transparency
UPS’s sustainability governance is embedded across the 2024 GRI Report, the 2025 Climate Change Statement, the 2024 Climate Lobbying Report, and the UK Modern Slavery Act Statement. The 2024 GRI Report is aligned with GRI, SASB, and TCFD. UPS holds SBTi near-term approved targets (2021) but does not hold a full SBTi net-zero validated target covering all Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3 categories to a 1.5-degree alignment standard. A shareholder resolution from As You Sow in November 2025 called for publication of a full Climate Transition Plan, citing capital allocation misalignment with stated climate targets.
- GRI Report 2024: aligned with GRI, SASB, and TCFD; published March 2025
- SBTi near-term targets: approved in 2021; 12% absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG reduction from ground operations by 2025 vs. 2015 baseline
- No full SBTi net-zero validated target as of March 2026
- Shareholder resolution (As You Sow, November 2025): requested Climate Transition Plan; UPS board recommended a vote against the resolution
- Capital allocation to environmental sustainability goals (2024): approximately one-third of total capital expenditures
- Natural gas vehicle investments: flagged by As You Sow as potentially locking in higher lifecycle emissions for decades
- Executive compensation: includes ESG-linked performance metrics; specific KPIs disclosed in the 2024 Proxy Statement
- CDP climate score: A- (Leadership) in 2023; 2024 score not yet publicly released as of March 2026
Technology and Innovation
UPS’s sustainability technology innovations span ORION route optimization, EV and alternative fuel fleet deployment, on-site and off-site renewable electricity procurement, SAF purchases, and advanced logistics technology for last-mile efficiency.
- ORION route optimization: reduces vehicle miles traveled by approximately 100 million miles annually; saves approximately 10 million gallons of fuel per year
- Alternative fuel ground vehicles: 15,600+ alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles in global fleet as of 2024, including electric, hybrid electric, CNG, LNG, propane, renewable diesel, and renewable natural gas
- Renewable natural gas (RNG): 29 million gallons of RNG used in 2024; additional RNG contracted for delivery in 2025
- Renewable diesel and biodiesel: significant volumes used in conventional diesel trucks to reduce lifecycle GHG; up to 90% reduction in lifecycle GHG versus conventional diesel
- Alternative fuel in ground operations (2024): 30.6%; 2025 target was 40%
- Renewable electricity (2024): 15.2% of total facility electricity; 2025 target was 25%
- Long-term renewable electricity contracts: two new long-term contracts with Pivot Energy for new renewable assets signed in 2024, to come online in future years
- SAF purchases (2024): minimal; not included in the 2024 Climate Lobbying Report metrics; 2035 target of 30% SAF in air network
- E-bike and cargo bicycle delivery: active in more than 30 global urban markets
- 10,000 Arrival electric delivery vehicles: originally ordered in 2020 from UK-based Arrival; Arrival entered bankruptcy in 2023, requiring UPS to pursue alternative EV supply arrangements
Global Partnerships and Advocacy
UPS’s key sustainability partnerships span renewable energy (Pivot Energy long-term contracts), alternative fuels (RNG Coalition, renewable diesel suppliers), climate governance (SBTi, UN Global Compact, Clean Skies for Tomorrow), tree planting (conservation organization partners), and humanitarian logistics (WFP, Red Cross).
- Pivot Energy: two long-term renewable electricity contracts signed in 2024 for new asset development
- RNG Coalition: active membership; 29 million gallons of RNG used in 2024
- Clean Skies for Tomorrow: commitment to SAF adoption in air network
- UN Global Compact: signatory; aligned to SDGs 7 (Clean Energy), 13 (Climate Action), 8 (Decent Work), and 17 (Partnerships)
- World Food Programme (WFP): humanitarian logistics partnership; UPS Foundation co-funds food supply chain resilience
- American Red Cross: disaster relief logistics; UPS Foundation provided logistics support in 2024
- SBTi: approved near-term target partner since 2021
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2025-ups-climate-change-statement.pdf
https://investors.ups.com/_assets/_4d4c324f03ca99aea0d8509b4f34cb68/ups/files/documents/2024_UPS_Climate_Lobbying_Report_Final_v1.pdf
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://investors.ups.com/_assets/_4d4c324f03ca99aea0d8509b4f34cb68/ups/files/documents/2024_UPS_Climate_Lobbying_Report_Final_v1.pdf
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/14-ups-climate-transition-plan
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
UPS’s most significant sustainability innovations span ORION intelligent route optimization, diversified alternative fuel strategy, renewable electricity long-term contracting, and global urban e-bike delivery.
ORION: Route Optimization at Scale
UPS’s ORION (On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation) system is the world’s largest commercial application of advanced route optimization in a parcel delivery context. ORION calculates optimal delivery sequences for each driver each day across the entire US domestic network, reducing total vehicle miles traveled by approximately 100 million miles annually and saving approximately 10 million gallons of conventional diesel fuel per year. As UPS transitions its ground fleet to alternative fuels and EVs, ORION’s route efficiency improvement directly reduces the total energy input required per package delivered, multiplying the GHG benefit of every EV or RNG-powered vehicle deployed in the network. ORION’s continuous improvement program incorporates machine learning to update route optimization models as traffic patterns, delivery densities, and EV range parameters evolve.
Diversified Alternative Fuel Strategy
UPS’s ground fleet decarbonization strategy is differentiated from FedEx’s by its deliberate diversification across six alternative fuel categories: renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable diesel, biodiesel, propane, electricity, and hydrogen. Rather than committing exclusively to battery electric vehicles, UPS deploys the fuel type best suited to route length, payload, and regional infrastructure availability, a “Rolling Laboratory” approach it has used since 2009. RNG-powered CNG trucks achieve up to a 90% reduction in lifecycle GHG versus conventional diesel. Renewable diesel, used in conventional diesel engine trucks without modification, also achieves significant lifecycle GHG reductions while requiring no new vehicle purchasing investment. In 2024, UPS used 29 million gallons of RNG and significant volumes of renewable diesel and biodiesel, contributing to the 30.6% alternative fuel share in ground operations.
Long-Term Renewable Electricity Contracting
UPS’s two long-term renewable electricity contracts with Pivot Energy, signed in 2024, mark a strategic shift from renewable energy certificate (REC) procurement to power purchase agreements for new renewable generation assets. This shift follows FedEx’s VPPA model and DHL’s renewable electricity infrastructure investment approach. The Pivot Energy contracts will come online in future years, providing additionality to the grid rather than purchasing existing generation certificates. UPS’s current renewable electricity coverage of 15.2% is predominantly from existing RECs; the Pivot Energy contracts represent the first major step toward the 100% renewable facility electricity target by 2035.
Urban E-Bike and Cargo Bicycle Delivery
UPS operates e-bike and cargo bicycle last-mile delivery programs in more than 30 global urban markets, including Amsterdam, Hamburg, London, Paris, Singapore, and New York, eliminating vehicle emissions entirely from dense city-center delivery routes. These programs are supported by micro-fulfillment centers or “rolling cargo bikes” that serve as mobile distribution hubs for the last half-mile, eliminating diesel vans from pedestrian zones and restricted urban corridors. E-bike delivery programs produce zero direct GHG and zero NOₓ emissions, making them the most effective last-mile tool for municipalities with vehicle access restrictions or zero-emission delivery zone mandates. UPS was one of the earliest global parcel carriers to operate electric delivery vehicles, having deployed electric trucks for select routes since the 1930s.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://about.ups.com/us/en/our-impact/ups-sustainability-and-social-impact-report/delivering-for-our-planet.html
https://www.iru.org/news-resources/newsroom/ups-delivering-sustainable-logistics-and-smart-recharging
Measurable Impacts
UPS’s 2024 GRI Report, 2025 Climate Change Statement, and 2024 Climate Lobbying Report provide the following multi-year performance data.
- Total Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG (2024): approximately 24.877 million MTCO₂e; down 2.1% from 2023
- CO₂e per package (Scope 1 and 2, 2024): up 5.5% vs. 2020 baseline; adverse against 50% reduction target by 2035
- Year-over-year combined CO₂e per package (ground, facility heat, electricity): decreased by 0.091
- Alternative fuel in ground operations (2024): 30.6%; 2025 target: 40%
- Renewable electricity for facilities (2024): 15.2%; 2025 target: 25%
- RNG used in ground fleet (2024): 29 million gallons; additional contracted for 2025
- Alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles in fleet: 15,600+ globally
- Trees planted since 2012: 28 million toward a 50 million target by 2030
- ORION annual mileage reduction: approximately 100 million vehicle miles saved per year
- Fuel saved by ORION route optimization: approximately 10 million gallons of conventional diesel per year
- Carbon intensity reduction from 2009 baseline: 48% through FY2023
- Packages delivered daily (2024): 22 million average
- Total revenue (2024): $91.1 billion
- Two new long-term Pivot Energy renewable electricity contracts signed in 2024
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://investors.ups.com/_assets/_4d4c324f03ca99aea0d8509b4f34cb68/ups/files/documents/2024_UPS_Climate_Lobbying_Report_Final_v1.pdf
https://about.ups.com/us/en/our-impact/ups-sustainability-and-social-impact-report/delivering-for-our-planet.html
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
UPS faces five material sustainability challenges, three of which involve missed 2025 targets and two involve structural governance gaps.
Two 2025 Interim Targets Missed
UPS committed to 40% alternative fuel in ground operations and 25% renewable electricity for facilities by 2025. Both targets were missed in 2024, with alternative fuel at 30.6% and renewable electricity at 15.2%, representing gaps of 9.4 and 9.8 percentage points respectively with the 2025 deadline. For the alternative fuel target, the primary constraint was the volume and cost availability of RNG, renewable diesel, and biodiesel at scale across the US network. For the renewable electricity target, the constraint was the pace of long-term PPA procurement and on-site solar installation across over 1,800 global facilities, a capital-intensive program that was underweighted in UPS’s capital allocation historically. Both gaps reflect a pattern that the As You Sow shareholder resolution formalized in November 2025: UPS’s capital spending in 2024 directed approximately two-thirds of capex to operational and network investments, with only one-third aligned to environmental sustainability goals.
Per-Package Emissions Increase Since 2020 Baseline
UPS’s 50% CO₂e per package reduction target by 2035 uses a 2020 baseline. In 2024, Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e per package was 5.5% higher than the 2020 baseline, moving in the wrong direction with eleven years remaining. The deterioration is driven primarily by growth in UPS’s air operations volume, where air cargo package density and SAF availability are insufficient to offset the absolute GHG per package contribution of jet fuel combustion. Ground and facility improvements delivered a 0.091 MTCO₂e per-package decrease, but were overridden by a 0.059 MTCO₂e per-package increase from air. This metric will only improve substantially when SAF volumes scale and ground fleet electrification reaches a meaningful percentage of total vehicle miles driven. At the current trajectory, the 50% per-package reduction by 2035 is severely at risk.
SAF Acquisition Structurally Inadequate
UPS’s 2035 target of 30% SAF in its air network is one of the most demanding SAF commitments in the cargo carrier sector, given its fleet size and cargo volume. In 2024, SAF purchases were described as “minimal” in the 2024 Climate Lobbying Report, insufficient to include in the year’s emissions metrics. The global SAF production capacity constraint affecting FedEx equally affects UPS: IATA estimated SAF covered less than 1% of global aviation fuel demand by 2024 at a production volume of approximately 1 million tonnes. UPS has not yet announced a large-scale multi-year SAF supply agreement equivalent to DHL’s Phillips 66 arrangement. Without a structural supply agreement by 2026 to 2027, the 30% SAF target for 2035 will be unreachable.
Capital Allocation Misalignment and Arrival EV Order Loss
UPS committed to purchasing 10,000 Arrival electric delivery vehicles in 2020, which would have represented one of the largest EV fleet deployments in US logistics history. Arrival entered administration and bankruptcy in 2023, invalidating this order and requiring UPS to redesign its US ground EV procurement strategy from scratch. The loss of the Arrival order set back UPS’s EV fleet ramp-up by an estimated two to four years, contributing to the missed 2025 alternative fuel target. UPS has since diversified its EV supplier base, but the replacement procurement program has not yet been publicly quantified with confirmed vehicle counts or delivery timelines comparable to the original Arrival commitment.
2025 Workforce Restructuring and Social Impact
In 2025, UPS announced the elimination of approximately 20,000 jobs and closure of 73 facilities, citing operational restructuring from automation and volume changes accelerated by the USPS contract termination. This is the largest workforce reduction in UPS’s modern history and represents a material social sustainability risk for employees, communities near affected facilities, and UPS’s brand relationship with the Teamsters union. The elimination of 20,000 jobs, against a workforce of approximately 490,000, is a 4% workforce contraction with concentrated local impacts. The 2025 sustainability reporting cycle will be the first to reflect the full social impact of this restructuring across community metrics and safety rates at consolidated facilities.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://investors.ups.com/_assets/_4d4c324f03ca99aea0d8509b4f34cb68/ups/files/documents/2024_UPS_Climate_Lobbying_Report_Final_v1.pdf
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/14-ups-climate-transition-plan
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
UPS’s forward roadmap through 2030, 2035, and 2050 concentrates on closing the 2025 interim target gaps, scaling SAF procurement, achieving full facility renewable electricity, and completing ground fleet electrification.
- Close the alternative fuel gap: increase ground operations alternative fuel from 30.6% toward 40%; expand RNG contracted volumes beyond 29 million gallons in 2025 and beyond
- Scale renewable electricity from 15.2% toward 25% and ultimately 100% by 2035 through long-term PPA contracts and on-site solar installation; build on two Pivot Energy contracts signed in 2024
- Achieve 30% SAF in air network by 2035; announce large-scale multi-year SAF supply agreements with major producers
- Achieve 50% reduction in CO₂ per package delivered by 2035 from a 2020 baseline; requires reversal of the 5.5% increase recorded in 2024
- Complete ground fleet EV transition: 50% ground fleet electric by 2030; replace the lost Arrival 10,000-vehicle order with alternative EV supply agreements
- Achieve 50 million trees planted by 2030; 22 million additional trees required over four years
- Achieve full SBTi net-zero validated target or publish a Climate Transition Plan, as requested by the As You Sow November 2025 shareholder resolution
- Achieve carbon neutrality across all global operations by 2050
- Scale urban e-bike delivery beyond 30 markets to additional cities with zero-emission delivery zone mandates
Compared to FedEx, UPS is structurally behind on renewable electricity (15.2% vs. FedEx’s 31 GWh at 34 sites, though both are inadequate against their respective 2035 targets) and ahead on ground fleet alternative fuel diversity with the RNG and renewable diesel strategy. UPS holds SBTi near-term approved targets, a governance advantage over FedEx’s intensity-only targets. Compared to DHL, UPS has no SBTi net-zero validated target and no equivalent SAF supply agreement at scale, representing the sector’s most material governance and commercial decarbonization gap relative to its closest global peer.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://investors.ups.com/_assets/_4d4c324f03ca99aea0d8509b4f34cb68/ups/files/documents/2024_UPS_Climate_Lobbying_Report_Final_v1.pdf
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
UPS is benchmarked against FedEx (its closest US peer by revenue and fleet size) and DHL Group (the world’s largest express parcel carrier and the sustainability leader in the global logistics sector).
Global Logistics Sector Sustainability Metrics
DHL Group is the unambiguous sustainability governance leader in the global logistics sector, holding the only SBTi net-zero validated target in the industry, the most advanced SAF procurement program (83 million gallons contracted with Phillips 66), and 100% renewable electricity at owned facilities. FedEx leads UPS on SAF deployment pace, with five airports active by January 2026 versus UPS’s minimal 2024 SAF purchases, and holds a carbon neutral target ten years ahead of UPS (2040 versus 2050). UPS’s governance advantages versus FedEx are its SBTi near-term target validation, its diversified alternative fuel strategy with 30.6% ground operations coverage, and its ORION route optimization system, which provides structural per-package efficiency improvement independent of fuel type.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://trellis.net/article/ebays-big-climate-transition-focus-product-delivery/
https://sustainabilitymag.com/supply-chain-sustainability/top-10-sustainable-transport-and-logistics-companies
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Three signals over the next 12 to 18 months will determine whether UPS’s carbon neutrality trajectory regains credibility or continues to diverge from its stated commitments.
Per-Package Emissions Reversal or Further Deterioration
The single most material metric in UPS’s sustainability program is CO₂e per package delivered against the 50% reduction target for 2035. In 2024, this figure was 5.5% higher than the 2020 baseline, a directional adverse trend. The next 12 to 18 months will show whether UPS’s accelerated RNG procurement, renewable electricity contracting, and ground fleet alternative fuel expansion in 2025 produce a measurable reversal in the per-package metric in the 2025 Annual GRI Report (expected March 2026). If per-package emissions decline in 2025, it would validate that UPS’s operational programs are sufficient to decouple package volume growth from GHG intensity. A third consecutive year of per-package emission increases would confirm that the 2035 target is structurally unachievable without a step-change in both SAF procurement and ground fleet electrification.
SAF Supply Agreement Announcement
UPS’s 2035 SAF target of 30% of jet fuel represents one of the largest SAF procurement commitments in the cargo sector by volume. In 2024, UPS’s SAF purchases were minimal enough to exclude from reported metrics. The 2026 to 2027 period is the critical window for UPS to announce one or more large-scale, multi-year SAF supply agreements with major producers, comparable to DHL’s Phillips 66 arrangement or FedEx’s Neste partnership, that establish a credible ramp-up trajectory. SAF production capacity in the US grew significantly in 2025, with LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines facility coming online in November 2025 at 10 million gallons per year and additional biorefineries in ramp-up. If UPS does not secure a major supply contract within the next 18 months while SAF production infrastructure is coming online, it will miss the early-mover procurement window that would have locked in competitive pricing and supply security for the 2030 to 2035 delivery period.
Climate Transition Plan Response to As You Sow Resolution
The As You Sow shareholder resolution of November 2025, requesting a published Climate Transition Plan covering capital allocation alignment, per-package emissions trajectory, and Scope 3 commitments, will come to a formal vote at UPS’s 2026 Annual General Meeting. UPS’s board recommended a vote against the resolution. Whether the resolution achieves meaningful shareholder support (above 30% is typically material for governance engagement) will determine the board’s response. If the resolution achieves high support, UPS will face investor pressure to publish a Climate Transition Plan within 12 to 18 months, which would require the company to articulate a credible capital reallocation plan toward environmental sustainability goals beyond the current one-third of capex. If supported by major institutional investors including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, it would trigger a formal board-level engagement process on UPS’s decarbonization capital strategy.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/14-ups-climate-transition-plan
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2025-ups-climate-change-statement.pdf
UPS’s sustainability record through 2024 presents a company with genuine operational decarbonization achievements, a 48% carbon intensity improvement from 2009, 30.6% alternative fuel in ground operations, 29 million gallons of RNG deployed, and 100 million vehicle miles avoided annually through ORION optimization, alongside a pattern of missed 2025 interim targets, deteriorating per-package emissions, and governance gaps that are now generating formal shareholder engagement. The two missed 2025 targets (40% alternative fuel and 25% renewable electricity), the loss of the Arrival EV order, and the As You Sow resolution together create a credibility challenge that cannot be resolved through incremental program upgrades.
UPS’s 2025 GRI Report, expected March 2026, will be the most consequential sustainability disclosure in the company’s recent history. It will show whether the 2025 operational year reversed the per-package emission increase, whether new SAF or EV commitments were secured, and whether the workforce restructuring generated measurable community impact reporting. ESG practitioners benchmarking UPS should read the 2025 GRI Report alongside the As You Sow Climate Transition Plan resolution outcome as a dual governance signal.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners benchmarking or replicating this approach:
- Diversified alternative fuel strategy is the most pragmatic near-term decarbonization tool for large mixed fleets: UPS’s Rolling Laboratory approach, deploying RNG, renewable diesel, biodiesel, propane, and electricity across different route types based on payload, range, and infrastructure availability, is the most commercially replicable model for large fleet operators that cannot afford to wait for full EV infrastructure maturity. Practitioners managing mixed-use logistics fleets in regions without reliable EV charging infrastructure, or with heavy-haul or long-range route requirements that exceed current battery range, should develop a fuel transition strategy that covers all six alternative fuel categories rather than creating a single-fuel BEV dependency. RNG in particular, deployed in existing CNG engine trucks without modification, offers up to 90% lifecycle GHG reduction at the current renewable electricity price parity point and without the vehicle purchase cycle complexity of full fleet electrification.
- ORION-class route optimization is the most cost-effective sustainability investment available to logistics operators: Saving 100 million vehicle miles annually and 10 million gallons of fuel per year through software optimization, with no vehicle hardware investment required, is a return on sustainability investment that no physical technology program can match at equivalent capital cost. Practitioners in supply chain, fleet management, and logistics network design should prioritize advanced route optimization as the first decarbonization investment before vehicle procurement, fuel switching, or facility energy programs, because it reduces the total energy input requirement against which all other programs operate. Every mile eliminated from a delivery route reduces GHG regardless of whether the vehicle runs on diesel, RNG, electricity, or hydrogen.
- Shareholder engagement on capital allocation is the new frontier of corporate climate governance: The As You Sow resolution targeting UPS’s capital allocation, rather than its specific emissions commitments, represents an evolution in ESG shareholder activism from outcome-based engagement (requesting specific targets) to capital governance engagement (requesting that spending decisions be aligned to stated commitments). Practitioners in corporate sustainability and investor relations should anticipate that capital allocation alignment will become a standard shareholder engagement dimension for any large company with material environmental commitments and a climate-intensive business model. The proactive response is to publish a Climate Transition Plan that explicitly maps capital expenditure categories to decarbonization milestones, before a shareholder resolution forces the disclosure.
Source
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2024-UPS-GRI-Report.pdf
https://about.ups.com/content/dam/upsstories/images/our-impact/reporting/2025-ups-climate-change-statement.pdf
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/14-ups-climate-transition-plan
