A Letter to a 7th Grade Class

7th graders from a Californian middle school submitted letters asking UPS to consider being more environmentally friendly. This response letter explains UPS's existing initiatives in sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Dear Samantha*, Douglas*, and Faah* from Mrs. Hallam's* class,

Thank you for sharing your concern about the ocean and our environment. We appreciate how much you care about the planet, and we do, too!

You may be surprised to learn how much UPS is doing to support sustainability, and to help our customers support the environment, too.

We are constantly exploring new ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and help protect the environment. One of the ways we are doing this is by using new types of fuel and technologies in our fleet. We now have more than 8,500 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles on the road. And we’ve committed that by 2020, 25 percent of the vehicles we purchase each year will be alternative fuel and technology vehicles. By 2025, 40 percent of the ground fuel we use will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel.

We’re doing other things to help the environment, as well. Through UPS carbon neutral, our customers can choose to remove the exact amount of carbon emissions resulting from the transportation of their packages. We do this by supporting environmental projects, such as reforestation. Did you know trees help capture carbon dioxide and provide oxygen? They also help preserve clean water sources, and provide refuge for wildlife. We’ve committed to planting 15 million trees by the end of 2020, and we’ve already planted more than 7 million so far.

For the past 15 years, we have published an annual report highlighting our sustainability efforts. You can find our most recent report here: https://sustainability.ups.com/media/ups-pdf-interactive-2016/UPS_2016_CSR.pdf.

You can also check out our website to learn more about our commitment to sustainability and the environment: www.ups.com/sustainability.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write to us, and to share your ideas. With your help, we look forward to a better future.

Best,

UPS Sustainability Communications

* names changed for privacy