FedEx has joined the ranks of major companies giving themselves a hard deadline when it comes to addressing climate change by overhauling their global operations.
The shipping giant on Wednesday announced its plan to become carbon neutral by 2040 through a combination of fleet electrification, sustainable fuel conversion, more efficient facility management, and natural carbon sequestration, among other measures.
Mitch Jackson, chief sustainability officer for FedEx, told Cheddar that the company had set climate goals in the past but now saw the need to apply its "logistical know-how" and "technical expertise" to a more ambitious sustainability program.
"FedEx has a long history of taking on ambitious programs," he said. "We helped create an industry many years ago with our founder Fred Smith."
Better Procurement
The company plans to spend $2 billion over the next two decades on the transformation — though many of the changes will stem from simply tweaking existing procurement practices.
"For the most part, this is using a strategy that we already have for upgrading facilities and upgrading and replenishing and refreshing our vehicles as well," Jackson said.
When FedEx replaces vehicles in its parcel pick-up and delivery fleet, for instance, now by default it will go with electric rather than gas-powered cars, a choice that has gotten easier as the economic benefits of going electric have become clearer.
Jackson noted that customers are increasingly demanding these types of changes as well.
"I've long said that sustainability is a team sport. It takes all of us working together," he said, calling out companies, customers, policy makers, and institutions.
Carbon Sequestration
As part of the initiative, the company also gifted $100 million to Yale University to fund the Center for Natural Carbon Capture, which aims to accelerate research of carbon capture across academic disciplines.
The partnership tackles what is set to become FedEx's biggest challenge on the road to becoming carbon neutral: its fuel-intensive aircrafts that criss-cross the globe.
While electrification is a clear path forward for the company's ground fleet, "aviation is more of a challenge," Jackson said. "There is no single solution that will work with respect to aviation."
He added that the Yale center is looking at biological, geological, and industrial methods of sequestration to make up for the massive emissions produced by aviation in a given year.
"This is a tremendous challenge for society today, and it's going to take all of us to do it."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
