Page 372 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Service Industries 347

capacity. This aircraft replacement program is expected to
eliminate more than 350,000 metrics tons of CO emis-
2
sions annually.
FedEx wide-body planes with flight management systems
use continuous approach descent, which keeps the plane
in idle during the descent, reducing engine thrust and
fuel. Also, ground support equipment at FedEx opera-
tions at select airports has been converted from internal
combustion engine models to electric units, which saves
almost 1 million gallons of jet fuel per month.
The company has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from FedEx Express global air operations by
20% per available ton mile by 2020.
As a result of route optimization, more than one-fourth
of the FedEx fleet has been converted to smaller more
fuel-efficient vehicles, saving more than 50 million gal-
lons of fuel.
• Material Efficiency
FedEx has extensive recycling programs at its operating
companies, and, in 2008, recycled a total of 17.6 million
pounds of waste materials including paper, metal, plastic,
wood, and electronic waste.
FedEx has worked to minimize the environmental impact
of packaging by using recycled content and maximizing
recyclability; for example, most FedEx envelopes are made
from 100% recycled content.
The FedEx Packaging Lab came up with an innovative al -
ternative for a commonly used Chinese cushioning mate-
rial—expanded polystyrene foam. Using environmentally
preferable honeycomb-style packaging with corrugated
pads achieved more effective packaging at the same cost.
• Alternative Energy
FedEx worked with Environmental Defense Fund to de -
sign and specify a hybrid-electric truck that improves
fuel economy by 42%, reduces greenhouse gas emis-
sions by 25% and cuts particulate pollution by 96%.
FedEx currently operates the largest fleet of commercial
hybrid trucks in North America, consisting of more than
172 vehicles.
In August 2005, FedEx Express, an express transportation
subsidiary of FedEx, activated California’s then-largest
corporate solar power installation at its Oakland hub.