UPS, which had a $4.1 billion fuel bill in 2008, wants to decrease the carbon emissions of its airplanes another 20 percent by 2020.
The Sandy Springs-based package carrier will do this by replacing older planes with more fuel efficient ones and continuing to experiment with biofuels.
With 263 planes, UPS has the world's ninth largest airline. The company delivered 3.9 billion packages and documents last year, which is part of the reason why UPS already engineered a way to save fuel while planes descend.
And it hopes to find more ways to save fuel, according to its annual sustainability report, released Tuesday.
The report is treasure trove of data about how UPS uses its resources. For example, the report shows it took 0.119 gallons of fuel to deliver the average ground package in 2008.
Logistics expert Doug Caldwell said that if "anybody can actually deliver on a promise, UPS can do it. They really are an engineering-focused company."
UPS said it saved about 1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in the United States last year by shifting some operations from air to rail.
"We set our first goal for aircraft emissions because our jet planes are the source of 53 percent of UPS's carbon output," said Bob Stoffel, a UPS senior vice president, in a statement.
If the company reaches its goal, it will have reduced carbon emissions by 42 percent from 1990 to 2020.
