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With
2002 revenues of $31.3 billion, UPS is certainly a corporate force
to reckon with. But what I find most intriguing is the story behind
those dollars and cents figures—the one that tells about the
company’s global reach, a brand that is one of the most seen
and recognized worldwide. Did you know, for example, that during
the course of a year UPS touches the doorstep of 98 percent of the
homes in America and reaches customers in more than 200 countries?
That 80 percent of the world’s population can be reached by
UPS in 48 hours or less? Did you know that in 2002, UPS delivered
3.4 billion packages and documents?
Who says one company can’t make a difference?
When thinking about the potential for change that UPS brings to
the global environmental movement, I can’t help but be reminded
of a quote attributed to The Body Shop’s Anita Roddick, who
said: “If you think you’re too small to have an impact,
try going to bed with a mosquito.”
Okay, so UPS may be a little bigger than your average mosquito,
but the description is apt. Because when UPS decides it wants to
do something positive for the community—be it in social reform
in a particular neighborhood or environmental stewardship on a national
level— its impact is felt far and wide.
UPS is a prime example of a company whose business model necessarily
makes the business case for sustainable development. Though it has
recently expanded into many new business segments, its primary business
remains getting things from Point A to Point B. To make a profit,
it must do so with maximum efficiency. What that means, among other
things, is using less fuel, optimizing delivery routes and using
less virgin materials in its packaging.
Additionally, to maintain its leadership position in the field,
it must continually look for the “next best thing” to
maximize efficiencies already achieved. That means exploring alternative
fuel options, innovative packaging materials and improved distribution
methods. All things that, in the end, positively impact the environment.
“We have realized, because of our size and because of our scale
and scope, we can try new things—things that are not just good
for the environment, but good for our business, too,” explains
UPS chairman and CEO Michael Eskew in this issue’s cover story.
“It’s got to make sense for the business; we have to be
able to think that, maybe not next week and maybe not next year,
but in the long-term, this is the thing that’s going to make
us a better company and a better corporate citizen.”
UPS defines the great American success story. It’s a legend
that thousands of entrepreneurs dream of: a $100 loan back in 1907
that has since translated into a multi-billion-dollar global operation.
The fact that it conducts business ever mindful of its social responsibility
makes it a goal especially relevant in our contemporary business
climate, where we need companies like UPS to maintain vigilance
over the footprint it is leaving on the world.
Thank goodness Brown is green.
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