Deutsche Post DHL Group Introduces Global Green Carrier Certification

Deutsche Post DHL Group is introducing a global DHL Green Carrier Certification to reward road transport subcontractors for their efforts to become more sustainable.

As part of its sustainability roadmap, Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 29 million tons by 2030 and net-zero by 2050.

Ground transport accounts for 21% of the Group's total CO₂ emissions. Accordingly, in addition to electrification of the last mile and investment in alternative drives and fuels in its own fleet, another important lever is the scope of sustainable transport services provided by the Group's service partners.

Andreas Mündel, Senior Vice President Strategy & Operation Programs at Deutsche Post DHL Group said: “Decarbonizing trade lanes and supply chains is a joint effort and has to be built on transparency and collaboration.

"With our DHL Green Carrier Certification, we have implemented uniform and transparent criteria when it comes to cooperating with our ground carriers going forward. This approach brings us all another step closer to our ambitious goal of true climate-neutral transport.”

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Visibility on transport carriers’ emissions is one of the biggest challenges and key in delivering Science Based Targets.

To provide this, the DHL divisions Express, Freight and Supply Chain jointly developed a standardized program to access the green performance and award the various partners providing ground transport services to the divisions.

The solution allows DHL to effectively manage relationships and reduce emissions: The green carrier certification program helps to identify subcontractors that are already contributing to sustainable logistics, while encouraging even more investment in green technologies.

All relevant information will be obtained via a dedicated online platform and are verified in an internal audit process. Based on the findings, the subcontractors are ranked in the four categories 'Pass', 'Good', 'Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’.

Since the beginning of 2021, the Group’s road freight provider DHL Freight alone has already surveyed more than 600 selected service partners from Germany, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands on their sustainability performance.

DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics provider, is currently rolling out the initiative via the online platform in selected countries and regions. The full worldwide rollout will follow in 2022.

The international express service provider DHL Express has included the certification as part of the tendering process for its ground-based transport and has received consistently positive feedback from carriers.

The DHL divisions will also survey subcontractors in other countries and award them in the coming months.

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