Dive Brief:
- On July 6, Boeing Co. and FedEx Express announced they will join forces for the fifth time on Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program, Memphis Business Journal reported Tuesday.
- The ecoDemonstrator initiative works to reduce aerospace emissions and noise, and also improve safety and efficiency.
- FedEx Express will take possession of the Boeing Model 777 Freighter in the autumn of 2017, to serve the company during the busy holiday season, after which it will return to Boeing for further improvements testing. FedEx has established a company-wide initiative to reduce emissions 30% by 2020.
Dive Insight:
The focus on pre-holiday delivery means that the ecoDemonstrator program will deploy during peak season. In 2016, that meant roughly 12 million packages delivered per day, for a total of 25 million on each of the three Mondays preceding Christmas.
To prepare, the company added 30 new aircraft to its existing fleet of 650, established four new distribution hubs, 19 new fully automated stations, and 12 million square feet of sorting space. Approximately 400,000 employees participated in the holiday package delivery process.
FedEx intends to achieve all this while simultaneously lowering its carbon footprint. At present, the company intends to increase vehicle efficiency 30% by 2020, and to obtain 30% of its jet fuel from alternative sources by 2030. Finally, in keeping with its participation in the ecoDemonstrator initiative, the FedEx airfleet now operates Boeing 777F aircraft, a more efficient model than MD11 freighters, and which also offer greater capacity. Roughly 23 B777Fs are currently part of the fleet, and there are plans to add a further 43 by mid- 2023. Nine B777Fs are currently in use in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).
By partnering with Boeing, FedEx may more easily meet its emission reduction goals. This kind of partnership may become more common as more companies work together to develop more eco-friendly business practices.
