Sustainability Historical Projects

Fourteen Agility Italy employees in Verona volunteered to refurbish a small farm. Working with Cooperativa Gramigna, the volunteers divided themselves into three groups and spent four hours cleaning a stable, clearing pathways to what will soon be a playground, and refurbishing chairs and tables. Once abandoned, the farm area has recently been refurbished by 3 organizations, for public use, including as an educational establishment for young scouts to learn about farming and nature.

For the second year in a row, Agility provided humanitarian fleet operations training to 25 representatives from 13 different humanitarian partners in Beirut, Lebanon. This training helps humanitarian partners better manage transportation fleets so more humanitarian cargo can be safely and more efficiently delivered to people in need. It also helps humanitarians reduce their operating costs and deliver more assistance when people most need it.

Agility and its portfolio company, United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), have teamed up to run a charitable meal program during Ramadan. In coordination with the Kuwait Food Bank, 17 volunteers from Agility and UPAC donated their time to help feed more than 20,000 individuals through a daily Iftar meal program and a Machla donation box distribution.

As part of UNHCR’s Ramadan campaign, Agility ran an internal fundraising drive. Employees in six Middle Eastern countries donated to UNHCR, ultimately supporting 14 refugee families (or approximately 70 individuals) during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The funds raised were channeled through UNHCR’s Cash Assistance program, which enables refugees to procure the food and life support essentials they need to survive. UNHCR cash assistance also contributes to the local economy and reduces refugee exploitation through forced & child labor, sex trafficking, family separation and forced marriage.

Working with one retail customer, Agility was able to measurably reduce the quantity of TEUs shipped from China to the West Coast of the United States. Through a solution that involved Container Freight Stations to consolidate cargo, we were able to reduce monthly TEUs shipped by 356.

One of our chemical customers in Europe challenged us to help organize their distribution network spanning 16 warehouses, packing and filling operations across one country. Agility rationalized the distribution network, reducing the total distance travelled by 22% while maintain the existing structure and adhering to the existing level of service requirements. The improvements resulted in cost reductions of 13%, a 7% increase in the volume delivered within 400 kilometers, as well as savings of 1,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions.

A global telecommunications customer challenged Agility to reduce the cargo weight, transport cost and emissions of its air shipments originating in 3 different countries. Agility modified air freight information management systems to better match the unique characteristics and requirements of each consignment, assigning a dedicated team to manage the consolidation. The changes resulted in 9% reduction of cargo weight and emissions for over 1,000 tons of air freight per year with no subsequent increase in transport times or disruption to manufacturing processes.

One of our retail customers wanted to decrease supply chain waste in order to mitigate consumer pressure and prepare for impending regulations. Over a period of 5 years, Agility implemented a solution to increase rates of carton reuse in order to reduce waste and save costs in the Philippines and Indonesia. In the Philippines, we were able to double carton reuse, leading to over $50,000 in packaging cost savings. In Indonesia, we increased the average reuse rate from 47% to 72%, leading to new total savings of $78,000.

A global electronics leader challenged Agility with how to address reduce the carbon footprint of their shipments while managing growth in the dynamic Middle East market. Agility analyzed the shipments and products to see which were well-suited to switch from air freight to ocean freight. Switching from air to ocean increased shipment time significantly, but can reduce costs and emissions by over 90%, depending on the trade lane. Agility’s proposed solution for one trade lane would increase travel time from one day to 22 days, but reduce cost and emissions by more than 98%. For a second trade lane, the Agility solution increased travel time from 1 to 24 days, but reduced cost by 65% and emissions by 78%

A global automotive customer needed help improving the reliability and environmental impact of its supply chains from China to the West Coast of the US. A careful analysis of the customer’s supply chain revealed a few key opportunities for improvement. In a multi-faceted optimization project, Agility’s supply chain solution team proposed buyer consolidation in China to reduce the total number of consolidation points, which would also facilitate load optimization. Shipments were re-routed away from less efficient ports, allowing for better consolidation at destination and creating opportunities to double stack containers for inland rail transport. The comprehensive solution saved the customer 24% on logistics costs, reduced total shipment time by at least one day, and as much as 17 days, with shipments arriving four days faster on average. The solution also reduced emissions by 9% overall. 

A technology company tasked Agility with reducing its carbon footprint for intra-Europe transport. It’s existing shipments were performed by truck. Based on the existing distribution network, Agility was able to propose multiple routing options on key trade lanes that would utilize lower-emissions modes of rail and barge, with only small increases in travel times. Switching to rail reduced emissions by 58%, and costs by 19%, while increasing travel time from 1 to 3 days. Switching from truck to barge reduced emissions by 68%, and costs by 30%, while increasing travel times from 1 to 5 days.

For a retail customer sending goods from Asia to North America, Agility introduced a range of improvements to their supply chain, including buyer consolidation at point of origin as well as load optimization. Improvements to the purchase order process and the vendor management systems were also part of this project, which reduced emissions by 9%, costs by 18% and average transport time by 11%.

Agility, a leading global logistics provider, announced that it has invested $35 million in Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, a blank-check company that will target businesses offering sustainable solutions in clean energy, healthcare, financial technology, industrials, mobility and emerging technology. Queen’s Gambit’s all-female management team is led by CEO Victoria Grace, a New York-based venture capitalist and Founding Partner of Colle Capital. The special purpose acquisition company is supported by an all-female Board with diverse industry experience.

Hyliion Inc., a leader in electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles, announced today the launch of its Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX), a long-haul, fully electric powertrain delivering superior performance, emissions reductions and cost-savings to the global trucking industry.

Agility, a leading global logistics provider, is the first logistics company in Abu Dhabi to operate double-trailer trucks, which will improve operational efficiencies for its customers and reduce emissions by cutting the number of trips made.

At Agility Egypt, our employees found creative ways to upcycle waste from around the warehouse. Instead of using new materials to build a worker rest area, the team constructed tables and benches using old pallets. Used truck tires were painted to create a garden that beautifies the spot, and an old container became a useful place to sort and organize waste for recycling.