FedEx and BP push the envelope with carbon-neutral deliveries


FedEx plans to be the first global logistics company to offer free carbon-neutral envelope shipping, after signing a deal to offset carbon emissions arising from the delivery of more than 200 million packages through oil giant BP’s not-for-profit carbon management programme.

The logistics company has already committed to using cleaner fleets, but from yesterday the company has also pledged to calculate the annual carbon footprint of all its FedEx Envelope shipping options and purchase the requisite carbon allowances to cover the deliveries through BP Target Neutral.

The funds will go to support investments in low-carbon development projects that reduce emissions or remove carbon from the atmosphere, and which create additional environmental, social and economic benefits.

These include a biogas farm in the Netherlands, a reforestation project in the Tanzanian Southern Highlands converting degraded grassland to commercial forest and a landfill gas collection system at Thailand’s first sanitary landfill.

“This is a milestone agreement between BP Target Neutral and FedEX,” said Andrea Abrahams, global director for BP Target Neutral, in a statement. “It is one of many examples in which businesses throughout the world can play their part in reducing the impact of carbon emissions on the planet.”

Many logistics firms offer customers carbon offset services and a number have also provided carbon-neutral deliveries as standard, but FedEx is the largest to date to pledge to offset all envelope deliveries.

A BP spokeswoman told BusinessGreen the deal provided an “opportunity for other [firms] to follow”, adding the company was “always looking to promote Target Neutral” to other Blue Chip customers.

The oil giant’s offset programme has been running since 2006 and is the first ever Official Carbon Offset Partner of a summer Olympic Games.

BP aims to use this deal with London 2012 to set a new world record this summer for the largest number of individuals to offset their travel to a single event.

People travelling to the Olympics are being invited to register their journey with the company so it can offset their travel free of charge.

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