Search Results for: sustainability

New postal service to help housing organisations go green

The social housing sector could save up to 58% on mail delivery costs and significantly reduce its carbon footprint with a brand new Postal Services deal launched by Procurement for Housing (PfH).

PfH’s market research showed that housing organisations send an average of 194 letters per day, each spending in the region of GBP 40,856 per year on the stationery, printing, collecting, processing and postal costs all involved in sending mail. As a whole the sector spends over GBP 139 million per year on mailings.

Research indicated that there was little awareness in the sector of the true total cost of sending mail via ‘traditional’ routes and there was a lack of understanding about other mail options now available through advancements in technology and process.

PfH’s Postal Services Agreement will help housing organisations reduce their environmental impact by decreasing their transport requirements. This is done through electronic mail, a service which uses email to transmit documents for the greatest part of their journey before they are printed, folded, enveloped, addressed and sorted at the supplier’s plant, ready for final delivery.

This electronic mail service eliminates the hidden costs associated with mail production, printers, toner, stationery and franking – providing an alternative to traditional postal collections. Housing providers reduce their postal costs and increase their control over spend on mail. Staff can concentrate on their core activities rather than collating mailings.

Housing organisations using the Postal Services Agreement can make up to 58% savings on the true cost of sending one letter by using PfH’s electronic mail service.

Significant savings are also available on traditional mailings, with PfH’s prices 40% less than normal franked 1st class deliveries and 13% less than normal franked 2nd class deliveries.

Three suppliers have been appointed to the Agreement – Inkfish in partnership with hybrid mail specialist DeskDirect Global, Royal Mail and TNT Post. Royal Mail and TNT offer traditional mail services such as local and national collections, mail sorting options and secure deliveries through the Agreement.

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DHL Japan fuel cell car on display at FC Expo 2008

DHL and pilot user of the Daimler AG (DAG) vehicle was proud to contribute to the display of this environmentally-friendly vehicle by Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd. (MBJ) at the 4th Int’l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo (FC EXPO 2008), which took place at Tokyo Big Sight from 27 – 29 February 2008. DHL has been using the model since July 2006 as part of its Green Logistics environmental initiative in Japan.

As part of DHL’s global green logistics initiative – launched in Japan in July 2006 – DHL Japan introduced the F-cell to its vehicle fleet. The F-cell, the world’s first mass-produced fuel-cell car, is modeled on the Mercedes-Benz A Class and is powered by compressed hydrogen. DHL has been testing the vehicle under actual working conditions by using it for the collection and delivery of documents in downtown Tokyo, especially in the bustling Otemachi district.

Data from the tests are collected by MBJ for use in systematic improvement and development of fuel-cell vehicles by DAG, the manufacturer. MBJ’s efforts are in accordance with the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, which aims to verify and evaluate a variety of effects regarding the use of fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen energy through actual use in business operations.

In Japan, DHL uses hybrid trucks and bicycles, as well as the F-cell vehicle, to help reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.
DHL is steadily expanding its use of alternative fuels and promoting environmentally efficient transport methods in its ground, sea and air operations around the world.

The contract logistics arm of DHL – DHL Exel Supply Chain aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by facilitating partnerships between shippers and logistics suppliers under the Green Logistics Partnership Project.

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UPS Canada helps expand largest global Green Fleet

PS Canada announced it will be rolling out 139 additional cleaner-burning, propane delivery trucks. The majority of these vehicles will be deployed in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta and the rest distributed between British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The propane vehicles are joining roughly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada. The addition of these vehicles means more than a third of UPS Canada’s 2,000 package delivery vehicles will run on low-carbon fuel.

The 139 new propane trucks are expected to reduce UPS’s carbon dioxide emissions by a total of 254 metric tonnes per year, the equivalent weight of 80 UPS trucks. This would be a 35 per cent improvement compared to conventional gas engines. Additionally, particulate matter emitted from vehicles will be virtually eliminated.

The newly added propane-powered vehicles feature the latest technology in clean-burning propane engines. Propane vehicles emit about one-third fewer reactive organic gases than gasoline-fuelled vehicles. Nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions are 20 per cent and 60 per cent less, respectively, than conventional vehicles.

UPS’s global alternative-fuel fleet now stands at 1,629 vehicles – the largest such private fleet in the transportation industry – and includes compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane and electric and hybrid electric vehicles. UPS is also working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicle.

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UPS Driver in China Wins Global Community Service Award

UPS driver Andy He Jinchang of Guangzhou, China, has earned the company’s top global community service award, the first time a non-U.S. employee has ever been so honored.

Jinchang was recognized for his personal outreach efforts to rural communities in the Guangdong Province where he is helping school children, mentally-challenged children and the elderly.

The Jim Casey Community Service Award winner is chosen annually from nominations solicited from UPS’s 425,000 employees. The Casey Award was created to recognize outstanding community service, a hallmark of UPS’s corporate legacy and commitment to social responsibility.

Jinchang’s UPS award follows other local recognition. Andy has been recognized as a local pioneer for voluntary service, receiving a Certificate of Honor from the Guangzhou Youth Education Work Group, and a Letter of Appreciation from the Guangdong province government.

Founded in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Ga., The UPS Foundation’s major areas of focus include community safety, nonprofit effectiveness, economic and global literacy, environmental sustainability and diversity. The UPS Foundation pursues these initiatives by identifying specific projects where its support can help produce a measurable social impact. In 2007, The UPS Foundation donated more than USD 46 million to charitable organizations worldwide.

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TNT's Henk van Dalen – A CFO preaches the importance of 'employee engagement,' traditionally a subject left to HR

Henk van Dalen has been busy on the M&A front. The CFO of TNT, a €10 billion Dutch logistics company, has overseen the acquisitions of ARC India-one of the countries major road express companies-in 2006 as well Brazil’s Mercúrio of Brazil and Hoau of China in 2007. These deals are part of TNT’s plan to become the number-one logistics company in emerging markets.
But along the way, the acquisitions present van Dalen with a challenge. Now that TNT operates across more than 200 countries and in 37 languages, how can he persuade a diverse group of employees to work towards a common strategic goal?
As the CFO sees it, part of the solution lies in ’employee engagement,’ getting employees to go the extra mile for the company. At TNT, this now includes an annual online survey to measure engagement levels, external benchmarking and making engagement levels a component of management bonuses.
Giving the programme’s acceptance among TNT’s rank and file a boost are studies from the likes of Towers Perrin-ISR-an employee-relations research firm-that draw a link between employee engagement and financial performance. Van Dalen concedes he needs a bit more time to see that link with TNT’s programme-which was launched a few years ago—but recently discussed with CFO Europe why he believes the initial results are encouraging.
Why did TNT decide to focus on employee engagement?
Employee motivation and engagement have always been important to the kind of work that TNT does. An enormous commitment is required from people to do their job effectively and efficiently with a focus on service and the right attitude.
At the same time, we recognised that it is important to work on this subject more precisely by having indicators available that enable management to target actions to get the best possible engagement. This more formal part started two to three years ago. It’s part of a wider focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, which focuses on three elements: people, planet and profits.
How does TNT measure employee engagement?
We measure engagement in three areas: employees’ perception of the group, such as the principles they believe it adheres; their views on the quality of leadership at TNT, and their views on various elements of the working relationship-for example, learning and development or reward and performance evaluations.
These areas are covered in an anonymous online survey, which is conducted by an external company. This allows us to benchmark ourselves against our sector and against the leading 10% in the world in terms of employee engagement.
How would you describe the current level of engagement at TNT?
We started the online survey in 2006 so I think it’s still too early to identify real trends. What we can clearly see is a lot of interest in the survey-the participation rate is high. Management is picking up on the outcomes and developing action plans for the next year. The outcomes are also being discussed with employees within each department.
How do you score in the benchmarking exercise?
We’re not able to share our benchmarking figures now. We will, however, give a little bit more detail for the first time in our annual report this year. I can say that the latest survey-conducted in 2007-found that our employees are more engaged than the average in the postal, transport and logistics industry, which makes me proud. Engagement figures appear particularly high in areas such as customer focus, social responsibility and diversity.
The benchmarking exercise has highlighted areas where we can improve. A case in point: the enormous focus required in terms of communicating with employees about the future. And that means not only telling but also listening.
Continuous and consistent efforts to promote engagement are also important. If you focus on engagement only once a year or once every two years, people think, ‘Oh no, here it comes again.’
Have you identified a link between employee engagement and finan

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