Offering climate-friendly shipping meets the demands of a growing group of consumers. More and more online shoppers are attaching great importance to keeping their ecological footprint as small as possible and are making their purchasing decisions dependent on this. A green shipping offer thus becomes a competitive advantage. Sustainable action is also economically viable. Find out in this article how Deutsche Post DHL can help you to ship “greener”.
Online shopping - greener than its reputation
Consumers’ interest in sustainability has grown enormously. When shopping online, the focus is primarily on shipping. The strong growth in sales during the pandemic years has intensified the critical view of transportation routes. It is interesting to note that few consumers are aware that online business has a better carbon footprint than bricks-and-mortar retail, as a study by the German Federal Environment Agency shows. The main reason for this is the ever-improving carbon footprint of the so-called last mile. With 20,000 e-vehicles, 12,600 e-trikes and 6,700 e-bikes, Deutsche Post DHL operates the world’s largest fleet of e-commercial vehicles, ensuring green delivery on the last stretch to the doorstep.
These measures to reduce CO2 in transportation are flanked by sustainable real estate. For example, more CO2-neutral business locations are to be created that are equipped with photovoltaics and heat pumps. This year alone, Deutsche Post DHL is investing 600 million euros in green infrastructure and the expansion of its e-vehicle fleet.
Manage packaging material efficiently
But even before the goods go on the climate-friendly transport route, efficient management of the packaging material makes an important contribution to more sustainability in shipping. In JTL-Wawi 1.6, you record all the data relating to your boxes, know your exact requirements and only have the amount of packaging material in the warehouse that you really need. The boxes can also be automatically calculated and reordered. In JTL-Wawi 1.6, you can also keep track of exactly how much packaging material has been used in which period. This also makes it easier for you to comply with the reporting obligation under the Packaging Act, which has been in force since 2019.
Saving CO2 with packing stations
Flexible delivery options are important to avoid multiple deliveries. A particularly climate-friendly delivery option preferred by many customers is via the Packstation, as this saves an average of around 30 percent CO2 compared to door-to-door delivery. After all, several dozen parcels are delivered to a Packstation at each stop and picked up there by the recipients on foot, by bike or on their way to work or shopping. With more than 9,300 Packstations, Deutsche Post DHL has by far the densest network of parcel lockers in Germany. The number is set to increase to around 15,000 Packstations by the end of 2023.
Would you like to give your customers the option of having their orders delivered to a Packstation near them? This is very easy with the free DHL Wunschpaket plugin for JTL-Shop 5:
Climate-friendly growth
There is only one way to achieve Good growth in online business and that is green. And it’s not just about a green image, but climate protection that can be documented with figures. Tobias Meyer, Chief Officer Post & Parcel Germany at Deutsche Post DHL Group, says: “We already produce significantly less CO2 per shipment than our competitors, because we deliver CO2-free in over 50 percent of our delivery districts thanks to the largest e-fleet on the market.” Those who already rely on the largest logistics provider today will soon be able to offer completely CO2-neutral shipping, says Meyer: “If the framework conditions are right, a CO2-neutral, sustainable letter and parcel service for the whole of Germany will be feasible in a few years’ time.”
Go Green or Go Home
Just how long Deutsche Post DHL has been committed to sustainability can be seen in its CO2 compensation services, including the GoGreen shipping option, which was launched back in 2007. Here, the shipping emissions generated are offset by investing in certified climate protection projects worldwide. A GoGreen Plus pilot operation is currently running with business customers for the national shipping of goods as well as advertising and press shipments. This avoids shipping emissions by investing in additional reduction measures in our own logistics network, for example by purchasing gas-powered trucks for our own fleet, which are then run on biogas. This listing will be available to all Deutsche Post DHL customers on a regular basis in 2023. GoGreen Plus will already be available for business customers from July 2022.
