DPD launches carbon neutral shipping in six markets

European parcel carried DPD has now adopted carbon neutrality for its services in six major markets, at no extra charge to customers. The company owned by La Poste’s GeoPost Group officially started its “Total Zero” programme at the start of July in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, the Benelux region and Switzerland.

The offsets will apply to shipments originating from those markets, regardless of where those items are bound, anywhere in the world.

The firm said its other business units across Europe should begin providing Total Zero from 2013.

The carbon neutrality programme sees DPD firstly measuring and monitoring its carbon emissions, working to reduce its carbon footprint, and then offsetting the environmental impact of its shipments through a carbon offset initiative.

Offsetting involves the company funding environmental projects to bring about an equivalent reduction in carbon emissions to those being generated by its shipping activities.

DPD, along with its owner La Poste is ultimately aiming to deliver its carbon offsetting programme without charging a premium fee to customers, as some other carriers do.

DPD’s parent GeoPost is expecting to offset around 550,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in the first year, in partnership with French state-owned carbon offsetting specialist CDC Climat.

The firm said fully accredited projects it will support include a reforestation effort in Colombia, a biomethane project in Cambodia and also Europe-based initiatives including an alfalfa feed production programme in France.

Proud

John Acton, managing director of DPD and executive VP of GeoPost, said his company was proud to launch Total Zero in the six market areas.

“DPD has been preparing for this moment for some time now, and I am sure that our customers will be delighted to know that we are now delivering carbon neutral parcels at no extra charge,” said Acton.

“We believe that responsible delivery means being carbon neutral, so we are not passing on any extra costs to our customers. We are convinced that this marks an exciting new chapter in our company’s history.”

Acton added that DPD hoped that zero-cost carbon neutral would become the standard across the industry.

DPD has been calculating its carbon footprint since 2006, and as well as offsetting its emissions, also said today that it will be continuing its efforts to reduce its generation of the climate change agent.

The company delivers about 2.5m parcels a day across its network, with a workforce of 24,000, a fleet of about 18,000 vehicles and a network of 800 sites.