The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS [NYSE: UPS], today announced five grants totaling more than $1 million to support a variety of environmental programs and organizations worldwide.

The grants, which include funds for planting trees, conservation, youth education and volunteerism, reflect the establishment of environmental stewardship as a new focus area by the Foundation.

The new grant awards include:

• $300,000 to The Nature Conservancy to assist with tree-planting efforts in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, conservation initiatives for rural residents in the Yunnan Forest in China and reforestation efforts in East Africa's Highland Forest.
  
  
• $300,000 to the Earth Day Network to support its national civic engagement project to educate youth about environmental issues and provide teachers with lesson plans and environmental impact online tools.
  
  
• $220,000 to Keep America Beautiful (KAB) to support its environmental education initiatives, including the creation of KAB affiliates on college campuses, support for a community volunteer initiative, a challenge grant for KAB affiliates and an environmental partnership grant for UPS Global Volunteer Month to encourage employee participation.
  
  
• $200,000 to the National Park Foundation to fund youth-engagement programs, including First Bloom, which provides children in urban locations (grades 4 through 6) with hands-on environmental learning.
  
  
• $50,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation to plant one tree for each of the first 50,000 UPS customers to begin using UPS electronic billing solutions, which eliminate the need for paper invoices.

At the beginning of 2008, The UPS Foundation adopted a new global philanthropic strategy to strengthen its impact and better leverage UPS's capabilities. In addition to the new environmental sustainability focus area, the Foundation's other focus areas include community safety, non-profit effectiveness, economic and global literacy and diversity.

"Protecting the environment is increasingly important to our company, to our customers, our employees and the communities in which we operate around the world, so it is a natural fit for The UPS Foundation," said Lisa Hamilton, president of The UPS Foundation.  "We are proud to partner with each of these esteemed organizations and to support the important work of nurturing our planet."

Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation has a tradition of providing support through grant programs and initiatives that help improve the quality of life in communities where UPS employees live and work. Last year, the Foundation donated nearly $46 million to charitable organizations worldwide. For more information on the Foundation, visit community.ups.com.

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.