FedEx Corp. has extended its commitment to social responsibility by releasing its 2009 Citizenship Report and unveiled the next evolution of FedEx sustainability, EarthSmart. Through EarthSmart, FedEx seeks to extend the depth and breadth of how sustainability is woven throughout the company. The FedEx EarthSmart program was developed in collaboration with Esty Environmental Partners, a sustainability management consultancy founded by Yale professor Dan Esty, author of “Green to Gold .”
“EarthSmart is a natural progression of our long-term strategic approach to sustainability,” says Mitch Jackson, vice president, environmental affairs and sustainability, FedEx Corp. “FedEx has long practiced practical environmentalism, using innovation, collaboration and leadership to create environmental benefits that also have business benefits. EarthSmart will offer a more formal structure that will allow us to engage team members, customers, shareowners and community stakeholders to help us achieve our environmental goals.”
Specifically, EarthSmart covers three pillars – business solutions, workplace culture and community outreach:
• EarthSmart Solutions are identified by a self-certifying, strict, quantifiable standard for innovation and environmental sustainability applied to FedEx services and assets, including planes, trucks, services and facilities. The solutions go beyond accepted industry standards while demonstrating tangible benefits to the business.
• EarthSmart @ Work includes programs that engage company team members on sustainability matters and help them to make significant contributions to the environmental sustainability of the company’s business.
• EarthSmart Outreach empowers FedEx and team members to contribute to the community in environmentally-focused ways, including enabling team members to apply their unique skills and capabilities with organizations that need them, such as assisting with sustainable transportation solutions in the developing world.
In addition to introducing EarthSmart, the 2009 FedEx global citizenship report provides insight regarding the company’s progress toward achieving its commitments to team members, customers, shareowners and communities. The newest edition demonstrates progress toward or accomplishment of the goals established in the company’s inaugural report in 2008. Highlights of the 2009 review include:
• An 8.33 percent reduction to-date against the 2005 baseline for aircraft emissions, advancing toward the goal of a 20 percent intensity decrease by 2020;
• A 14.1 percent improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency since 2005, surpassing the halfway milestone for increasing ground fleet efficiency 20 percent by 2020;
• Exceeding the fiscal year 2008 goal of procuring 25,000 MWh of renewable energy credits while continuing to install solar electric systems, with a current capacity of 3.92 MW;
• Completing the process of tracking facilities’ emissions;
• Maintaining charitable giving levels despite difficult business conditions, giving 1.5 percent of pre-tax profits; and
• Implementing a method to simplify organizing volunteer programs and to track volunteer efforts, which helped identify that during the 2009 FedEx Cares Week alone, team members in 38 countries volunteered more than 20,000 hours.
