“Practical sustainability” is a concept that FedEx uses to add actual, tangible value to an organization through its environmental responsibility efforts. And it’s a concept that both private companies and public institutions can benefit from, says Mitch Jackson, FedEx VP of Environmental Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer. Jackson will kick off Day 3 of ELEMCON (May 15-17) with a session on how companies can use the strategy to “Reduce. Replace. Revolutionize.”

“Practical Sustainability is strategic and transformational stewardship that adds value to an organization… Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize is the strategic approach to implementing Practical Sustainability,” Jackson told Environmental Leader.

• The first element is to Reduce or eliminate the impacts of your activities or operations, first and foremost.
• The second element is to then Replace—and by replacing, find the right solutions for the right applications.
• The third element pushes beyond the first two of Reduce and Replace. “Those are imperatives that we as sustainability professionals, environmental managers or energy managers need to be focused on today; but what about tomorrow? That’s where Revolutionize comes in,” Jackson explains. “The idea is to discover and utilize the technologies and solutions of tomorrow and put them into service today.”

FedEx uses regularly uses this approach in terms of vehicles, aircraft, facilities, and packaging and paper. For example, the company has a goal of improving the fuel efficiency of its FedEx Express vehicle fleet by 50% by 2025 – and has already achieved 35% – by using the Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize strategy. “We work hard each and every day to optimize the routing of the vehicles that we have in our fleet, while focusing on efficiency and customer service in doing so,” Jackson says. “This allows us to reduce the overall mileage and fuel used, and emissions generated, for the service areas. We then apply the right vehicle solutions in the specific routes, or replace them. Longer distance routes use smaller vehicles because they have better fuel economy, and do not need the larger cargo capacity.”

In downtown urban areas, the company maximizes for cargo capacity. “And then we seek to revolutionize. For years we’ve worked on technology solutions, including alternative fuel, hybrid electric, and all-electric vehicles. We worked years ago with Environmental Defense Fund to put the first commercially-viable hybrid-electric vehicles on the road. We have since put all-electric vehicles in the delivery vehicle space,” says Jackson.

But when it comes to “revolutionizing” the commercial use of electric vehicles, there’s still a long way to go, he says. “The prospects of electrification for commercial vehicles are improving, but there’s still work needed to make cost-efficient, operationally viable electric commercial vehicles available,” Jackson says.

How can companies begin taking a revolutionary approach to their sustainability strategies? Jackson will share his tactics – along with successes, failures, and lessons learned – at ELEMCON in Denver, May 15-17. Jackson is particularly excited to share the company’s Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize strategy during his presentation because the conference as a whole is “about accomplishing,” he says. “The private and public sectors can come and learn about the challenges of sustainability and environmental compliance, as well as hear solutions that others are implementing. The conference agenda includes the experiences of practitioners: how they’re taking these ideas and concepts and applying them in their organizations. The hope is that people can learn and benefit by these examples in addressing the challenges inherent in energy, environment, and sustainability as a whole.”

Learn more about the Environmental Leader and Energy Manager Conference (ELEMCON) and register here.