FedEx Corp. said it plans to invest an initial $2 billion as part of a new plan to make its global operations carbon-neutral by 2040.
The Memphis, Tenn., package-delivery giant said Wednesday that the investment will focus on vehicle electrification, sustainable energy and carbon sequestration.
As part of its plans, FedEx said its entire parcel pickup-and-delivery fleet will be zero-emission electric vehicles by 2040. The company said it would phase in new vehicles over time, with half of FedEx Express global pickup-and-delivery vehicle purchases to be electric by 2025, rising to 100% of purchases by 2030.
The moves by FedEx and its rival package carriers are accelerating competition among vehicle manufacturers to develop and produce the trucks and delivery vans that cargo companies are seeking to reduce their carbon emissions.
FedEx has already signed an agreement to make it the first customer for the EV600, a General Motors Corp. electric truck designed for commercial purposes. The package-delivery company agreed to buy 500 of the trucks for delivery later this year.
FedEx rival United Parcel Service Inc. has ordered 10,000 vans from U.K.-based electric-vehicle startup Arrival Ltd., while e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. has invested in Rivian Automotive LLC and has a deal to buy 100,000 of the company’s delivery trucks for its burgeoning package-delivery operations.
FedEx is also pledging to provide $100 million to Yale University to help establish the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, which the school said will focus on developing natural solutions for reducing atmospheric carbon.
“We have a responsibility to take bold action in addressing climate challenges,” said FedEx Chairman and Chief Executive Fred Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale who launched the delivery giant in 1971.
FedEx, which operates the world’s largest cargo airline, also said it will continue to invest in alternative fuels to reduce aircraft and vehicle emissions, and that it will build on earlier work aimed at reducing fuel consumption by its aircraft.
The company also plans to offer sustainable packaging to its customers and to continue sustainability efforts at its more than 5,000 facilities around the world.
This article originally appeared on Wall Street Journal
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