Eco-Shopping Guide Scores UPS Tops in Shipping

For the fourth consecutive year, UPS (NYSE: UPS) has earned the No. 1 ranking in the consumer shipping category of the Climate Counts Company Scorecard. UPS tied for second overall in this year's global list of 145 companies and is the only transportation and logistics provider to appear in the top tier of the list.

Climate Counts shares its rankings via a consumer shopping guide, available at www.climatecounts.org and, for easy mobile access, an iPhone App.

The accolades come during the company's busiest time of year, when consumers' impact on the environment increases due to more shipping during the holidays.

"During this shopping season, the Climate Counts Scorecard offers environmentally-conscious consumers a convenient tool to make more sustainable gift-giving choices," said Scott Wicker, UPS Chief Sustainability Officer. "Being cited by Climate Counts once again validates UPS's industry leadership, our commitment to our customers, and our commitment to sustainability."

Climate Counts, a non profit organization, categorized UPS as "soaring" which recognizes companies that are "demonstrating truly exceptional leadership on climate change." Only 15 companies earned that accolade.

The annual report rates major consumer brands on their approach to climate change based on 22 criteria that measure efforts to assess their climate footprint, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support progress on climate legislation and communicate their efforts clearly and comprehensively to consumers.

This year's report shows that 66 percent of companies scored have publicly available climate and energy strategies, compared to just 25 percent in 2007, the first year the company issued the report. The scorecard, which rates UPS at 89, also shows the average score for all companies is 52.1, the first time the overall average has exceeded the 50 point margin since the first report in 2007.

As a proven industry leader in sustainability, UPS continues to offer customers products and services that emphasize efficiencies and easily address environmental concerns, including UPS carbon neutral shipping, Carbon Impact Analysis and an Eco Responsible Packaging Program. Consumers can select UPS carbon neutral shipping on all UPS package products via UPS shipping systems. This measurement and offset process, which is available in more than 36 countries, is transparently reviewed and certified by reputable global third party organizations. Carbon Impact Analysis calculates the carbon emissions of a customer's UPS shipments, allowing them to more precisely measure the climate impact of their shipping. The UPS Eco Responsible Packaging Program is a contract program created to evaluate a customer's packaging systems for damage prevention, right-sizing and materials content.