While going green may be nothing more than a trendy buzzword in many businesses, it is an essential forward-thinking necessity for companies engaged in the shipping business. Expedited shipments are all about cost-per-mile. Anything that reduces one company’s costs over that of another gives it a pricing edge that can lead to achieving market dominance. Green fleets thus become critical experiments in cost reduction that also serve to enhance the company’s environmental reputation, given the vast number of miles driven on an annualized basis.

UPS reports that its fledgling fleet of green vehicles has just surpassed the 200 million mile mark. That’s halfway to Jupiter, but only one way. Like its revolutionary precursor, universal package tracking new technology plays a huge role in this next wave of advances in package delivery. The ideas that make the cut will soon spread nationwide and beyond as they are proven and refined. Companies benefit via improved efficiency. Customers benefit through lower prices. The environment benefits through emission reductions from the largest motor vehicle fleets on the planet. Sometimes, it really is possible for everyone to win.

Green technologies are, of course, a combination of many disparate factors. Ever-expanding computer networks provide greater real-time tracking and shipping assurance. This jump in organized data provides the raw materials for analysis that points the way to greater efficiencies. Improved new vehicles and aircraft provide further avenues of progress. UPS and the other global delivery services may be only halfway to Jupiter at the moment, but it is clear that they are going to go the whole distance sooner than later.

What we are experiencing in our lifetimes is nothing short of a transportation revolution. These large players are experimenting with factors that will one day trickle down to us on our daily commute or family vacation. The future looks bright indeed.