Public Policy and Advocacy
FedEx actively participates in the political process with the ultimate goal of promoting and protecting the economic future of our customers, team members, investors, and businesses. FedEx has been a longtime leader and advocate on policy issues including aviation, trade, transportation, technology and innovation, tax and economic policy, sustainability, postal reform, and many others.
For more information about our perspective on public policies and some of the issues that FedEx is currently working on, visit our FedEx Policy Perspectives webpage.
FedEx is subject to extensive regulation at the federal and state levels and can be affected by legislative initiatives across an array of policy issues. FedEx builds working relationships with federal, state, and local government elected officials, agencies, and organizations through direct and indirect lobbying and advocacy efforts on issues that affect FedEx and its operating companies. Through our advocacy efforts FedEx remains focused on policies and issues regardless of political party or a political party agenda and our political contributions and expenditures reflect this approach.
Through our participation and that of our employees, the Government and Regulatory Affairs Department promotes legislative and regulatory actions that further the business objectives of FedEx and attempt to protect FedEx from unreasonable, unnecessary, or burdensome legislative or regulatory actions at all levels of government.
How We Engage
We have developed a strong team of government relations professionals that drive our lobbying programs and initiatives. Our government relations organization is led by a Corporate Vice President of Global and Regulatory Affairs, who reports directly to FedEx’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Members of the Government and Regulatory Affairs Department work from a global network of offices. We are committed to responsibly engaging in the political process and fully complying with all applicable laws and regulations, our principles of good governance, and our high standards of ethical conduct.
To ensure alignment of legislative and regulatory priorities with business objectives, our Government and Regulatory Affairs Department is aligned with the corporation’s business and regional leadership teams and is directly engaged in their core strategic processes. On an annual basis, the Government and Regulatory Affairs Department engages with the company’s senior business leaders to review long-term strategic priorities, identify associated public policy risks and opportunities, and develop prioritized action plans. The Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and Corporate Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs also meet periodically with FedEx’s Executive Chairman and President and CEO to ensure policy advocacy priorities are aligned to FedEx’s overall business objectives.
Management and Board Oversight of Lobbying and Political Activities
The Governance, Safety, and Public Policy Committee (the “GSPP Committee”) of the FedEx Board of Directors assists the Board in oversight of the company’s political activities and expenditures. The GSPP Committee reviews and discusses with FedEx’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary:
- public policy, political, and legislative trends and matters that affect or may affect the company’s business, performance, strategies, or reputation;
- the company’s political activities and participation in the political process, including direct and indirect political spending and lobbying activities and expenditures;
- the company’s contributions to trade associations that engage in political activities;
- the steps management has taken to identify, assess, and manage risks relating to the company’s political activities and expenditures; and
- the company’s reporting of its political activities and expenditures.
The GSPP Committee also periodically reviews and discusses the Policy on Political Contributions with management and approves any changes to the policy.
Management is responsible for implementing effective reporting and compliance procedures designed to ensure that FedEx’s political activities are conducted and disclosed in accordance with applicable law and our Policy on Political Contributions. In addition, management is responsible for monitoring the appropriateness and effectiveness of the political activities undertaken by the most significant trade associations in which FedEx is a member.
Climate Lobbying
In March 2021, FedEx announced a new goal to take our global operations carbon neutral by 2040. This goal is ambitious, given our industry and scale, and is in the spirit of alignment with the net zero ambitions of the Paris Agreement. FedEx works with various government and industry organizations. Upon occasion, the views of FedEx are not completely aligned with those of other members in external organizations in which we hold membership. In those instances, we strive to engage and foster innovation and improve the transportation sector’s environmental, social, and business performance. For additional information on our engagement with external organizations on climate change legislation, see our 2021 CDP Climate Change Response.
FedEx Policies and Procedures for Political Contributions
FedEx political contributions and expenditures are made to further the best interests of the corporation and our stockholders and employees and are made without regard to the personal political preferences of individual FedEx Board members, officers, and employees.
Political contributions of all types are subject to extensive governmental regulation and public disclosure requirements, and FedEx is fully committed to complying with all applicable campaign finance laws. For example, under U.S. federal law, FedEx cannot directly support candidates for federal office, so we do not. In addition, while some U.S. states allow corporate contributions to state and local candidates or ballot issue campaigns, it is our policy not to make such contributions. FedEx also does not make independent expenditures.
In addition, FedEx does not make corporate contributions to groups organized under section 501(c)(4) or section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, other than membership dues, event sponsorships, and contributions to the organizational committees of the Democratic and Republican national party conventions and the annual conferences of the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations. None of these expenditures are used to directly support any election-related activity or ballot initiatives at the federal, state, or local level.
These limited corporate expenditures are approved by the Corporate Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, in consultation with appropriate members of FedEx senior management.
FedEx’s Code of Conduct prohibits employees from conducting political activities on FedEx property or time or involving the use of any FedEx resources such as vehicles, telephones, computers, or supplies. FedEx employees are prohibited from making or committing to political contributions on behalf of FedEx.
U.S. Federal and State Lobbying Disclosures
FedEx files quarterly reports on Form LD-2 with the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate disclosing a list of our lobbying activities. FedEx and its registered federal lobbyists must also file semi-annual reports on Form LD-203.
These reports are available by searching for “FedEx Corporation” as a “Registrant” on the U.S. Senate's website. These reported expenditures list the aggregate dollar amount of FedEx’s U.S. federal lobbying activities. Disclosure reports are also provided below.
We also file registrations at the state level for each of the U.S. 50 states and the District of Columbia. To view FedEx’s state lobbying disclosures, go to the Office of the Secretary of State of the relevant state and search “FedEx” to locate the report.
FedExPAC Contributions
The FedExPAC keeps employees aware of important issues and decisions made by government officials that can affect our business and allows FedEx employees to pool their financial resources to support political candidates, campaigns, and committees in furtherance of the interests of the company and our stockholders and employees.
The political contributions made by the FedExPAC are funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of our employees (no corporate funds are used), and decisions about membership in the FedExPAC have no bearing on an employee's career at FedEx.
FedExPAC is guided by strict U.S. federal law. The FedExPAC’s activities are subject to comprehensive regulation by federal, state, and local governments. FedExPAC files monthly and year-end reports with the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), which are publicly available on the FEC website here, using the Committee ID# C00068692. These reports provide an itemization of FedExPAC receipts and disbursements, including any political contributions, over a certain amount (currently, $200). Disclosure reports are also provided below.
Participation and Membership in Trade Associations
Our participation in the political process is designed to promote and protect the economic future of FedEx and our stockholders and employees, and we maintain memberships with a variety of trade associations and industry organizations expressly for that purpose.
We believe that as a member of various trade associations that these recipients take many positions and address many issues of importance to FedEx in a meaningful manner, and the associations take positions and address issues in a collective industry manner and often advance positions consistent with company interests, that will help us provide:
- strong financial returns;
- enhance long-term stockholder value; and
- advance the best interests of our employees consistent with our corporate values.
However, participation in the political process and as a member of various trade associations comes with the understanding that we may not always agree with all of the positions of the recipients, organizations, or organizations’ other members. We believe the associations, however, take positions and address issues in a collective industry manner and often advance positions consistent with company interests that will help us provide strong financial returns, enhance long-term stockholder value, and advance the best interests of our employees consistent with our corporate values.
As a general matter, the trade associations of which FedEx is a member, like other membership directed organizations, are driven by consensus. Typically, no one member dictates priorities over the concerns/objections of other members. When we disagree with a position, we employ a range of approaches to make our voice heard. We believe our dissenting voice has greater impact when we participate as a member of these organizations offering a balance of perspective.
We evaluate our trade associations based on several criteria, such as:
- Executing on industry priorities and effectiveness of these efforts
- Managing resources and allocating resources to industry priorities
- Approach to representing and communicating about our industry
- Understanding and knowledge about the industry now and into the future
- Reporting updates on a timely basis with solid analytical skills and value-add information
- Responsiveness to company and other members
- Accuracy of assessing current issues and issues on the horizon facing our industry
- Quality of the work and meeting member expectations about work product
- Ability to retain talented employees
To assist the Board of Directors in the oversight of FedEx’s political activities and expenditures, the GSPP Committee reviews and discusses with the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary FedEx’s contributions to trade associations that engage in political activities to ensure continued overall alignment with policies and issues consistent with stated our advocacy efforts. In addition, management is responsible for monitoring the appropriateness and effectiveness of the political activities undertaken by the most significant trade associations in which FedEx is a member.
Membership in trade associations requires that we pay regular dues. Some trade associations utilize a portion of membership dues for non-deductible state and federal lobbying and political expenditures. These associations provide FedEx an estimate of the amount of our membership dues they use for non-deductible purposes.
See a list of the trade associations receiving $50,000 or more in annual payments from FedEx here .
Resources
FedEx Policy Perspectives
Policy on Political Contributions