By Olga Orda •
June 19, 2008
A few weeks back, I was writing about CO2-friendly supply chains and saw the hefty list of U.S. companies that the Environmental Defense Fund had helped switch to recycled content in a drive to reduce paper waste across the nation.
Now, paper is back under the public eye in fuller force than ever because of its significant climate change footprint.
“Paper is a tremendously resource-intensive product to produce,” explains project manager Victoria Mills, “and the decomposition of paper in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.”
By Paul Smith •
April 10, 2008
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For most people, shipping something quickly internationally boils down to a small bowl of alphabet soup: DHL, UPS, or FedEx. End of story. It’s just how things get done. But for an increasing number of people, they’re aware of the fact that airplane flight plays a major part in contributing to global climate change. But most only know part of the story.
In a conversation with Justin Brown of First Global Xpress, I began to find out: All the major international shippers use a “hub and spoke” system to distribute packages. In a case of bureaucracy overriding logic, a package sent from New York to Europe may first go to New Jersey, then go several miles in the wrong direction, to Memphis Tennessee, then back overseas, taking in the sights at several major and regional sorting centers until it arrives. Why? It defies logic, in terms of efficiency, ecology, and economy.
And get this: according to Justin, 30% of jet fuel consumed is during take off. So, add up those extraneous miles, plus the fuel consumed each flight, and you’ve got an enormous carbon footprint here, an unnecessary one.
What to do? Enter First Global Xpress.
By Max Lindberg •
April 7, 2008
How much gas money would you save if you didn’t have to make a lot of left turns?
UPS, the delivery people, decided to re-structure the delivery routes taken by drivers to eliminate as many left turns as possible. Now that may sound weird, but how long have you sat in a left turn lane waiting for oncoming traffic to pass, and how many times have you dreaded crossing into oncoming traffic?
The results have [...]
By Amy Stodghill •
March 16, 2007
Transporting goods from point A to point B is necessary for the flow of commerce but can be heavy on CO2 emissions. Now with a little help from route-planning software trucking companies and other large delivery services can use less fuel, reduce overall emissions, and save money.
UPS has modified their package-flow technology to determine more efficient routes for delivery vehicles called Roadnet Transportation Suite. The suite can eliminate idle-heavy routes such as
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