UPS inks its largest investment in renewable natural gas to date

In June, UPS announced its ambitious new sustainability goals, including a 12 percent reduction of absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations by 2025. Shortly thereafter, UPS announced a US$90 million investment in natural gas vehicles and infrastructure. Now, the Atlanta-based integrator is heading into the year’s end inking an agreement with Big Ox Energy to purchase the equivalent of 10 million gallons of renewable natural gas (RNG) per year.

The agreement, which runs through 2024, is UPS’ largest investment in RNG to date. The integrator said it hopes that its early commitment to renewables will lead the industry towards cleaner fuels. Mike Casteel, director of fleet procurement for UPS, explained that the deal signaled the company’s “ongoing commitment to help shape the renewable natural gas industry.”

“Because of our size and scale, we know our commitments can shape markets, advance technologies and be a catalyst for infrastructure investments,” said David Abney, UPS chairman and CEO.

UPS says that by using RNG, it can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent, when compared to conventional diesel.

“Natural gas is a proven alternative fuel to gasoline and diesel and is a key building block for our goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our ground fleet,” Casteel explained. “These agreements add significantly to our investment in the use of RNG and will help put us on track to nearly triple our annual use of RNG.”