Why DHL remains at the forefront of environmental sustainability

As climate change becomes difficult to ignore, many businesses are now recognising the need to go green in their business processes and turn to more sustainable methods. Moreover, in recent years, consumer preferences have been fast evolving and spreading beyond traditional environmentalism. 

This means that more consumers are not only taking action to become more environmentally conscious, but they are also becoming advocates for green initiatives and products. To encapsulate their motivations, some would do so by supporting green businesses, opting for no plastic bags, or ensuring that products are manufactured using eco-friendly logistics – ultimately, choosing only to purchase from brands that have ethical and sustainable practices or values. 

As a leading logistics company in the world, DHL Express has a responsibility to influence the industry by setting a good example and advocating itself as a sustainability leader. From pioneering the first eco-friendly logistics product to evolving into a company that is strongly committed to a zero-emissions goal, such as encouraging businesses to streamline their international logistics, DHL Express has been and still continues to offer a comprehensive scope of green initiatives in our business practices.

Moreover, there are many environmental practices in place, such as establishing over 100 million electric vehicles, using at least 86% of our energy from renewable sources, and having more than 70,000 GoGreen specialists in our logistics today. Through these environmental practices, we are able to reduce our carbon footprint and set the highest standards when it comes to governing green initiatives, accomplishing social responsibility, influencing markets, and ultimately, protecting our environment.

Why are we committed to environmental sustainability?

At DHL Express, environmental sustainability is at the core of our business. We serve to connect people and improve lives. This purpose influences the underlying values, missions, and responsibilities of both our business and people. By fulfilling this purpose, not only are we able to ensure that every dimension of DHL Express is sustainable, but also in a way where both consumers and the environment remain unaffected. 

Now, let’s dive into the aspects of DHL Express’ environmental practices and learn about our sustainability roadmap toward a greener future. 

1. Eco-friendly logistics

As a delivery courier, warehouses are essential as they ensure that every product is accounted for and protected from external factors such as heat, rain or damage. Moreover, by properly storing products within the warehouse, we ensure that they are well-assembled and ready to be shipped out for distribution. However, with thousands of goods stored within our warehouses across the globe, it comes as no surprise that the overall energy consumption is high.

In order to reduce carbon emissions, our warehouses are equipped with green solutions. For instance, solar panels are installed on the roofs and surfaces of warehouses and offices, so as to convert the sun's rays and turn them into clean energy for use. Alongside the solar panels on the roofs, water catchment areas are also installed to collect rainwater during the monsoon season or on rainy days. This is otherwise known as rainwater harvesting. In doing so, we are able to obtain an independent supply of water and reduce water consumption. In addition, LED lamps are equipped with motion sensors to only switch on whenever our employees are running errands at the warehouse. 

Lastly, we have electronic vehicles stationed outside the warehouses, ready to transport goods with zero carbon emissions – striving for clean operations and climate protection. 

While many measures are in place to protect the environment, we also take pride in ensuring the well-being of our employees. Thus, vertical gardens and jogging tracks are installed in offices to enable employees to unwind and stay healthy. In the long run, these rest channels help to boost employee welfare.

2. Eco-friendly shipping packaging

According to the UN Environment Programme, at least 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced annually, a number that is steadily increasing since the era of mass production began. It is evident that packaging plays a significant role in our environment and impacts our waters. As such, there must be a shift in how we want to incorporate reusability and sustainability in our shipping packaging to reduce ecological impact. 

Before products are shipped, we ensure that every step of our packaging decision is made to reduce as much environmental impact as possible. This extends to communication between our partners to promote and test eco-friendly materials that are still innovative while providing sufficient protection during transportation. At the same time, we also take high priority in ensuring that our customers opt for reusable materials when it comes to packaging and reduce their plastic usage as well. 

With our packaging services solution, we build our materials and processes around a sustainable design to improve packaging sustainability. For instance, instead of using plastic shrink wraps, DHL Express uses pallet wraps; to replace resealable plastic bags, we use compostable bags. In the long run, true collaboration among partners, suppliers, and consumers can lead to better packaging solutions that are environmentally-friendly to protect our environment and help cut down on shipping costs.

3. Zero-emission shipping

When it comes to transporting products, our fleets are considered to be the largest and thus, is one of the most important logistics solutions. As transportation contributes to a huge amount of greenhouse gases, we ensure that our fleets have zero emissions. To do so, we deploy various types of green initiatives to our fleets like using sustainable aviation and shipping fuels. 

Aviation

For all trade and shipments via air, we reduce carbon emissions from our planes by switching to sustainable fuel. With Air Freight GoGreen Plus, our planes use only aviation fuels that are certified and sustainable in every way possible. Also known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), it reduces Tank-to-Wake by 100% and Well-to-Wake carbon emissions by up to 80%. In addition, they easily meet sustainable production criteria and reduce carbon footprint. With environmentally-friendly transportation, our planes are clear to transition to cleaner and more sustainable air freight. 

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