The FINANCIAL — Bonn 06/27/2011 — DHL Parcel will start offering CO2-neutral delivery for all private customer parcel items in Germany as of July 1, 2011 – at no extra charge.
Deutsche Post DHL is the first and still the only logistics company in Germany to offer private customers an eco-friendly way to deliver their parcel items. “This way everyone can do their part to protect the climate and take on their social responsibility. And it doesn’t cost them anything extra,” says Jürgen Gerdes, Corporate Board Member MAIL, who is responsible for Deutsche Post DHL’s parcel business.
For every parcel item delivered within Germany with its services, Deutsche Post DHL contributes to climate protection projects through its GoGreen program. This offsets the emissions produced during transport and shipment processing. Deutsche Post DHL transported some 1.7 billion GoGreen items – letters, parcels and express items – in 2010 alone. This translated into more than 80,000 tonnes of CO2 that the Group was able to offset for its customers. “We’ll see another steep increase in this number once all the parcels sent by our private customers in Germany are added to this,” says Gerdes.
There is more to green logistics than carbon offsetting, however. Deutsche Post DHL was the first global logistics company to set a carbon efficiency goal: By the year 2020, the Group plans to have improved its carbon efficiency by 30% over its 2007 values. To do this, the company is relying on a number of initiatives, including the use of alternatively powered vehicles and more efficient route planning. The results in parcel shipping demonstrate the success of these measures: Since 2007, the average carbon footprint per parcel has decreased from 630 grams to less than 500 grams. This represents a reduction of more than 20 per cent in just four years. To put this into perspective, it takes but 3.5 km for a modern mid-size car to produce 500 grams of CO2. “The logistics industry plays a pivotal role in reducing CO2 emissions. At Deutsche Post DHL, we’ve embraced this responsibility and have become a pioneer in green logistics. Sustainability is a key component of our corporate strategy,” emphasizes Jürgen Gerdes.
Deutsche Post DHL initiated its GoGreen program in 2008. Emissions calculations and carbon offsetting values generated through GoGreen are verified annually by the leading international independent certification organization Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) in accordance with ISO 14064 standards.
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