UPS is spending $450 million to expand its fleet of natural gas vehicles making deliveries.
"We've been at this for decades, so this additional 6,000 vehicles rose our existing fleet of 10,000 vehicles to be one of the largest in the transportation industry," Mike Whitlatch, vice president of global energy and procurement at UPS, told Cheddar Wednesday.
Whitlatch says this investment could lead to a much cleaner future for the company.
"I think the real story here is that natural gas provides us a bridge or a pathway to use renewable natural gas (RNG) or biomethane, which offers significant emissions benefits over conventional fossil fuels."
Biomethane is created from organic matter found in landfills or wastewater treatment plants.
"This is a seamless integration," Whitlatch said. "We can take RNG from these sources throughout the United States, or wherever it's at in the world, we can integrate it within existing pipeline systems, we can move it from point A to point B, and seamlessly compress it and place it into our existing fleet today."
Whitlatch says UPS continues to look for ways to strive for a clean future, including its fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles.
"It's an all-in approach to figure out how we can lessen our impact on the planet."
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