Sustainability Historical Projects

Agility offices across the globe have joined the Waste-Free Agility campaign to eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles and paper coffee cups. The Waste-Free Agility campaign calls on our facilities to meaningfully reduce or eliminate an important waste stream through changes in behaviour.

Agility and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced a partnership that will strengthen the delivery of essential services to refugees in Malaysia, establishing pilot programs in Johor and Penang to bring critically needed services to more than 12,000 refugees. The services include refugee card renewal, access to essential information related to protection, and to receive counseling on available services. The pilot program will help extend support to more than 12,000 refugees, most of them Rohingyas from Myanmar. With local engagement and support, Agility and UNHCR will eliminate the need for vulnerable refugees to travel 300+ kilometers from their homes to Kuala Lumpur to have access to vital services, including refugee card renewal.

Responding to the Taal Volcano eruption in January 2020, Agility worked closely with the Philippines Red Cross to provide relief goods to nearly 24,000 evacuees in the City of Batangas. Two 6-wheeler trucks were deployed for two weeks, distributing relief items to numerous evacuation centers across Batangas City.

Recognizing that plastic waste is one of the factors harming the environment, Agility Brazil took action, eliminating the use of more than 12,000 plastic cups a month in all 13 branches. Employees were given ceramic Agility mugs; stepping up to support eliminating waste in our operations and honoring our Waste-Free Agility Campaign.

Our increasingly warmer world has an impact on the safety and comfort of our employees, as well as our energy costs. Agility Hong Kong invested in four industrial High Volume, Low Speed (HVLS) fans that cool down the high temperature of the warehouses on hot summer days, keeping employees comfortable.

In November 2019, Agility Singapore made the move to 100% renewable electricity by installing solar panels on the rooftops of all of our facilities. The total array will have more than 6 thousand panels and has a capacity of over 2 mega-watt peak. 100% renewable energy generated from the panels will cover all of Agility’s energy needs additional power will go back into Singapore’s energy grid. The solar PV installation is the largest for Agility Asia-Pacific so far.

This June, Agility Spain has committed to source 100% renewable energy for all facilities (offices and warehouses). The renewable sourcing guarantee comes in the form of renewable energy credits (RECs) from Nexus Energía, a renewable energy provider active in Spain, Portugal and Germany.

National Aviation Services (NAS) has joined the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority’s efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by introducing electric forklifts and tractors into its operations in the country. Twelve new electric vehicles replace traditional diesel-fueled equipment for baggage and cargo handling around the aircrafts, ensuring a quieter and cleaner working environment in the baggage sorting area. By switching from fuel to electric-powered equipment, there are several environmental benefits, including reduced petroleum and fuel consumption and improved air quality, particularly at indoor facilities. The equipment is also smaller in size, occupying lesser space and leaving more room for maneuvering. Investments like these are not just good for the environment, but lead to operational savings.

The Middle East, where we have our largest operational footprint, is a climate hotspot. Cheap, abundant fossil fuels means electricity consumed there typically generates more carbon-equivalent emissions per kilowatt hour than in other regions. Summer temperatures are projected to rise twice as fast as the global average, with temperatures above 46°C more than five times as likely by 2050.

Since 2011, Agility has been working to reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions from our data centers/servers in Irvine, California and Leeds, UK. In Irvine, an original virtualization and consolidation project in 2011 reduced the server totals by over 60%. A second consolidation project reduced the number again by a further 60% in 2015. Today, our total average electricity usage has decreased to 69% of peak usage in 2011, saving over 45 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. A similar exercise at our data center in Leeds reduced energy consumption to more than 83% less than peak usage in 2010, saving over 60 tons of CO2 emissions each year. A forthcoming hardware upgrade is expected to reduce energy consumption by a further 50%.

Four Agility Chemicals employees, based in Liverpool, U.K., volunteered their time to give a chemical safety workshop to nearly 200 students, ages 9-11 years old. In addition to giving safety tips and knowledge on chemical safety at home, the employees also gave students insights into the world of supply chain logistics.

Agility Bangladesh volunteers participated in a Customs Workshop organized by the UN Logistics Cluster in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This training helps humanitarians to reduce the time that humanitarian cargo is in transit, which reduces inventory requirements and operating costs, while increasing the amount of aid materials available to beneficiaries. The Agility Bangladesh team also supported the Logistics Cluster by helping them to prepare a Logistics Capacity Assessment (LCA) for the country, and by working with local government, private sector and NGO stakeholders in a country-wide preparedness project to help the country prepare for future humanitarian emergencies.

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.