UPS adds more low-pollution cars to ABQ facility with state grant

One of the world’s largest companies is working with New Mexico to get more low-pollution vehicles on the road.

The New Mexico Environment Department last week announced it awarded UPS a $473,222 grant to replace 16 diesel delivery vehicles with compressed natural gas, or CNG, vehicles.

CNG produces less pollution than diesel. Nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 9 tons, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are reduced by more than half a ton over the life of the vehicle, according to the Environment Department.

It’s also a type of fuel incentivized under the clean fuel bill Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed this year. The state’s expected to draft rules for the measure before the end of the year.

“New Mexico has helped school districts and nonprofit organizations reduce their climate-warming emissions from their vehicle fleets. Now, UPS is following suit by retiring diesel-fueled vehicles and replacing them with cleaner vehicles,” Environment Department Secretary James Kenney said in a statement.

The grant doesn’t cover the total cost of replacing the trucks, which adds up to $1.4 million. Ryan Bankerd, director of sustainability for UPS Corporate Affairs, described it as a partnership.

“It’s a collaboration where we identified solutions that work for our business needs that then work for the environment and the community,” he said.

UPS has a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Local UPS business manager Anthony Estrada has been with the company since 1998. He said the company does everything it can to meet its goals.

“Any company that invests their substantial resources in taking care of the environment, I’m all for it,” he said.

He said the 16 CNG delivery vehicles, or package cars, are currently being built to UPS specifications, and the company should get them within the next two months. The cars are replacing older models in the fleet.

Bankerd said an all-of-the-above approach works best for UPS so the company can use the vehicles it needs to get jobs done. Estrada echoed the sentiment.

“If we’re set to be able to complete our job, I’m all for whatever we work with,” Estrada said.

He said UPS started setting up CNG vehicles and infrastructure in Albuquerque shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicles don’t differ too much from diesel-fueled cars, he said.

Feeder manager Jaime Coffield said CNG is cheaper than diesel. He said the CNG vehicles don’t have as long of a life cycle, but the technology is still advancing and keeps getting better.

“We’re working out all the bugs,” he said.

Estrada said the Albuquerque facility currently has 79 CNG package cars and 71 tractors use to deliver large volumes of product to specific locations.

“Our transition has been seamless,” he said.