Green Office award underscores DHL’s commitment towards environmental sustainability
DHL today announced that its Singapore-based Asia Pacific Regional Office at Parkview Square has been successfully certified as a ‘Green Office’ by the Singapore Environment Council, making it the first and only international company in the industry to be awarded the label here.
DHL is one of the 10 corporate and government offices in Singapore to have made the cut, passing a rigorous audit covering indicators such as environmental policy and commitment, energy consumption, paper usage, purchasing practices especially those related to IT, focus on recycling, as well as training linked to environmental issues.
Some of the best practices adopted by the regional office include installing water saving devices, converting to energy saving lights, reducing the extent of lighting and elimination of disposables, as well as switching to recycled paper and encouraging double-sided printing. The office has also introduced a Let’s Go Green campaign to educate the employees on environmental-friendly practices, and encourage them to do their part for the environment.
By adopting these effective measures, DHL’s Asia Pacific Regional Office has significantly reduced its electricity and water consumption by 30 pct and 25 pct respectively.
Dan McHugh, CEO of DHL Express – Asia Pacific, said, “Earning the ‘Green Office’ label allows us to demonstrate to our customers, partners and employees our commitment towards managing our environmental impact in our offices. Environmental sustainability is a strategic consideration that is critical to DHL’s long-term growth. Globally, DHL is investing its resources and efforts towards alternative technology and innovation for our transport fleet and network operations, as well as offering green solutions for our customers.”
DHL recognizes that its business operations impact the environment, and has therefore been actively pursuing environmental initiatives as part of its corporate social responsibility and service to customers.
In January this year, DHL launched a new carbon neutral shipping service GOGREEN in Europe at the World Economic Forum. DHL GOGREEN is a value-add service which provides carbon-neutral shipping to help its customers offset the carbon dioxide emissions produced through the transportation of their shipments. The emissions are calculated and off-set in carbon reduction projects ranging from alternative vehicle technologies to renewable fuels. To ensure accountability and transparency, the program is annually verified by an external certifying body – Swiss-based Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS). DHL aims to expand this value-add service to other regions and countries including Asia Pacific.
In other environmental sustainability initiatives in Asia Pacific, DHL Express has introduced bio-fuelled or hybrid vehicles in its various markets including Bangladesh, Japan, Thailand and India to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to alternative vehicle technology, DHL is focusing its efforts towards internal communications on environmental responsibility to drive staff behavior change and action focusing on green office programs. Environmentally-friendly practices are also well-entrenched in DHL’s Logistics division. Over 90% of DHL Global Forwarding’s facilities in the region are ISO 14001-certified, while DHL Exel Supply Chain has achieved OHSAS 18001 certifications for most of its facilities.
