Earth Day 2019: Highlighting Sustainability
This year, XPO is celebrating Earth Day with a big step – by releasing our first global sustainability report.
When we started XPO in 2011, we set out to create a new logistics model designed from the ground up to help customers thrive in an era of technological disruption. Our company runs on innovation. Our approach is one of purpose-driven progress – for our customers, our employees and our communities.
Perhaps more than other industries, we depend on teamwork to move goods through complex global supply chains. That’s why sustainability – supporting our communities, creating an equitable workplace based on respect, driving a low-carbon economy and providing opportunities to build rewarding careers—is a natural part of how we think and act.
Our inaugural sustainability report lays out the steps we’re taking to deliver on our commitment. It’s the foundation for the work we’re doing to drive sustainability going forward. Through the combination of our culture of engagement and our ambitious commitment to innovation, we’re helping address society’s challenges. I want to call out a few highlights from our 2018 report:
Supporting healthy pregnancies and family bonding
In 2018, we announced comprehensive policies for women and families that are among the most progressive in the country, including up to 20 days of 100% paid time off to accommodate health and wellness needs during pregnancy and a family bonding benefit that gives primary caregivers six weeks of fully paid leave.
Driving down emissions, improving fuel efficiency
In North America, we bought nearly 800 new fuel-efficient tractors and deployed new routing technology to reduce empty miles. In Europe, we invested in alternative fuel and high-capacity trucks that reduce road miles and dramatically cut CO2 and NO2 emissions.
Reinforcing our safety-first culture
Initially launched in the United Kingdom in 2016, Our Road to Safety initiative is aimed at achieving zero occupational incidents and ensuring the emotional security of all XPO colleagues in the workplace. We rolled this program out globally last year.
Expanding options for career development
Last year, we introduced a development program directly inspired by employee suggestions. We now offer $5,250 annually in tuition reimbursement for US employees who want to pursue continuing education outside of XPO.
Supporting community engagement
There are hundreds of instances in 2018 of community support provided by XPO employees and our company, ranging from our 25-year partnership with United Way to giving bikes to kids in need in Ohio to collecting thousands of tons of food for food banks in the UK. We’re thrilled to spotlight these remarkable efforts in our new report.
I admire the creative energy, talent and time XPO and our employees devote to solving customers’ problems, managing our environmental footprint, enhancing our workplace and giving back. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made over the past eight years, and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead to keep moving the world forward.