UPS has completed the largest purchase of natural gas that has ever taken place in the US.

The shipping giant has purchased 170 million gallon equivalents in renewable natural gas from Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

The 170 million gallon equivalents purchased is meant to be used in the coming years in order to increase alternative fuel consumption. The move is effectively the largest commitment to the use of renewable natural gas that the US has seen so far. The commitment UPS is making will see them use approximately 22.5-25 million gallon equivalents per year while the transition to alternative fuel is set in motion. UPS aims to have alternative fuel consumption represent 40% of all fuel consumption by 2025, while lowering absolute greenhouse gas emissions of their ground fleet by 12% by 2025.

UPS has already used more than 28 million gallons of natural gas since 2014. Now the company will have to use almost as much per year as they’ve used for the entirety of the last 5 years. The result will be a marked reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions across the 12 states where UPS has company-owned natural gas stations. The company could realistically cut out 1,074,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gasses while the agreement is still in effect. “Together, UPS and Clean Energy are moving the industry forward and toward a nation of energy independence by pushing for RNG at scale,” said Clean Energy Renewables Vice President Tyler Henn.

UPS currently has only 6,100 vehicles which operate on renewable fuels. This will likely change in the near future, but this purchase is a historic achievement, for the time being. UPS is trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is working with the federal ‘Renewable Fuel Standard’ program to do so.