DPD set to introduce free carbon neutral shipping on all deliveries in industry first

by Peter Diehm on 2012-02-22

Anybody reading my blog posts so far knows how important I think the sustainable movement will be for the logistics industry. It is now great to see that DPD will try to go carbon neutral. Even if they do not reach it 100%, it is an honorable goal and other parcel delivery companies can learn from it. As always just one concern from my side hopefully they will choose the right offset partners and make sure the offsets are additional and legitimate - Peter Diehm

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Aschaffenburg / Paris, February 14th – All parcels will soon be shipped carbon neutral - at no extra charge to the customer - by DPD in the first initiative of its kind to be offered by a parcel & express service provider. From July DPD will apply Total Zero, its new carbon neutrality commitment, to all shipments.

The carbon neutral commitment will be achieved through a triple mechanism: measuring emitted carbon, reducing the carbon produced by DPD and subsequently carbon offsetting. In launching Total Zero DPD is committing to keep reducing its environmental impact through introducing a range of emission reduction initiatives – called insetting - which will collectively help reduce CO2 emissions.

DPD’s carbon footprint has been calculated regularly since 2006 and DPD has been reducing its carbon footprint per parcel over time. In parallel DPD parent company GeoPost will offset non avoidable CO2 emissions through a partnership with well-know French offset partner CDC Climat.

Remaining carbon emissions of approximately 500,000 tonnes each year will be offset for 5 major markets. Carbon credits will be used to compensate for GHG emissions emitted by the business.

John Acton Managing Director of DPD & Executive Vice-President of GeoPost S.A., said: “Total Zero was born out of DPD’s recognition of the need for the highly carbon intensive logistics industry to reduce its carbon footprint – and at the same time reduce its impact on the planet.”

“DPD will continue to look at every aspect of its business with the goal being to significantly reduce its own CO2 emissions per parcel year-on-year – which are nevertheless lower than our competitors due to the use of our European road network rather than air transport,” Acton said. He added that CDC Climat’s international reputation and long-term commitment to lowering CO2 emissions makes it the perfect offsetting partner for Total Zero.

Pierre Ducret, CEO, CDC Climat said: “Total Zero represents a genuine commitment to not only reduce carbon emissions in such an emission-heavy industry, but also to anticipate and enter the new low carbon economy.”

“CDC Climat is working closely with the company to identify a range of carbon offsetting projects that it will support via Total Zero – which could range from overseas projects in the developing world through to more local schemes in Europe.”

He added the amount of carbon offset annually per parcel by will reduce year-on-year due to the impact of the various insetting measures.

The company has implemented a measuring scheme for carbon emissions and have an on-going programme in place to measure and reduce the CO2 they produce. This work is undertaken through a series of ‘insetting’ measures - initiatives designed to help lower the organisation’s carbon footprint through a group-wide responsibility strategy which includes a wide range of domestic and international projects.

Insetting initiatives currently helping to reduce DPD’s carbon output include:

 - Eco-driving training for delivery drivers and the UK ‘Drive Smart’ campaign that raises awareness of Eco-driving;

 - Introducing the UK’s largest fleet of double deck trailers which can hold a third more volume than a single deck vehicle;

 - Reducing energy consumption by measures such as sensor activated lightning and power awareness campaigns in UK.

 - Compressed Natural Gas Vans in the Netherlands. DPD Netherlands is introducing new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vans to its fleet.

 - Pedal power in Hamburg. DPD in Germany has introduced delivery bikes that can carry up to 50 parcels to residential areas of the Hamburg.

 - Zero emissions vans in Stuttgart and Hamburg. DPD in Germany has introduced Vito E-CELL Mercedes Benz electric vans for parcel delivery.

 - Motion detector light switches in Belgium. DPD Belgium has installed motion detector light switches to its Flémalle hub. This technology ensures lights are automatically activated throughout the hub – ensuring that lights are not left on needlessly overnight

Total Zero will apply to business and consumer shipments to all destinations around the globe from the five major markets of France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands and BeLux.

DPD is a subsidiary of GeoPost, 100 % affiliate company of French Groupe La Poste, which has made a significant carbon reduction commitment today in announcing it will offset all mail and parcels sent globally via the service. This combined action of mail and parcels is a major step forward towards climate protection.

Further information on Total Zero is available at www.dpd.com/totalzero