Yesterday marked the five year anniversary of the launch of Deutcshe Post DHL's Go Green programme. DHL were the first international courier company to set a measurable climate target and, as part of the Deutsche Post DHL group, are on their way to achieving a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 based on a 2007 base level.
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| Over 8000 vehicles in the company's fleet use alternative drive systems or have undergone aerodynamic or electrical-motor-related modifications |
As well as working towards this goal via fuel efficiency initiatives and reduction of energy and fuel consumption, DHL also offers customers a variety of environmentally conscious shipment options. Demand for such green products has increased steadily over recent years. According to DHL, “more than 2.4 billion GOGREEN shipments were sent and about 180,000 tons of CO2 were offset for customers - this is about 30 percent more than 2011 and over three times as much as 2009, when the total was 704 million shipments.”
Christof Ehrhart, the group’s Director of Corporate Communications and Corporate Responsibility, affirmed that GoGreen has been a real success so far. He commented: “ "Since its beginnings, we have continuously improved our own carbon footprint and are already halfway to meeting our goal of reducing our emissions by 30 percent by 2020. Environmental protection has a permanent place in our strategy and is reflected in Group-wide guidelines regarding such issues as paper, procurement and investments. Our employees also practice sustainability throughout the year. As part of this effort, 20,000 of them around the world have already attended the 'GoGreen' e-learning course. Today's World Environment Day is a great opportunity to increase their awareness even more."
DHL are by no means the only courier company to be concerned with environmental issues: FedEx's recently published 2012 Global Citizenship report revealed the US courier has already achieved its 2020 target to improve fuel efficiency by 20%. UPS have won numerous awards for their environmental responsibility and is continually seeking to optimise its fleet, and invest in alternative energies, as we reported last month.
