From now on all parcels sent via DPD UK will be shipped carbon neutral – at no extra charge to the customer. Total Zero, DPD’s new carbon neutrality commitment, applies to all domestic and international shipments from six major markets in Europe.
Total Zero will be available to all customers in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, BeLux and Switzerland at first and it is anticipated that other DPD business units across Europe will begin providing Total Zero from 2013.
“We are proud and excited to officially launch Total Zero in the UK. 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.” says Dwain McDonald, CEO of DPD in the UK.
The Total Zero carbon neutral commitment is achieved through a triple mechanism: measuring emitted carbon, reducing the carbon produced by DPD – called insetting – and subsequently carbon offsetting.
“Total Zero came about because, as a company, we wanted to take responsibility and reduce our impact on the planet. 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 and we hope that carbon neutral shipping at zero extra cost will one day become the standard across the industry”, Mr McDonald adds.
DPD’s parent company GeoPost will offset non avoidable CO2 emissions – initially 550,000 tonnes for the year – through a series of offsetting projects chosen in partnership with well-known French offset partner CDC Climat.
These include international projects such as reforestation in Columbia or introducing biodigesters to rural farming communities in Cambodia, alongside European-based initiatives.
All of the selected projects are accredited with globally recognised carbon standard certifications such as Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) which measure project emission reductions; Gold Standard (GS) certificate, awarded by the Gold Standard Foundation to premium carbon mitigation projects, Joint Implementation – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and the CCB Standards by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance.
In launching Total Zero DPD is committing to keep reducing its environmental impact through introducing a range of emission reduction initiatives – called insetting – which will collectively help reduce CO2 emissions.
DPD’s carbon footprint has been calculated regularly since 2006 and DPD has been reducing its carbon footprint per parcel over time.
Total Zero will apply to business and consumer shipments to all destinations around the globe from the six major markets of France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, BeLux and Switzerland.
Further information on Total Zero is available at www.dpd.com/totalzero
About DPD
With the shipment of 2.5 million parcels a day DPD is a leading international provider of parcel and express services. The company has the most efficient road network in Europe and delivers to 230 countries worldwide. Customers can choose services from an extensive product range of national and international parcel and express services for business and home deliveries. A workforce of 24,000 and 18,000 vehicles operate at more than 800 locations. The majority shareholder in DPD with 83.32 % shareholding is the GeoPost Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of French Groupe La Poste. With a consolidated turnover of 3.668 billion euros in the year 2011 GeoPost is currently Europe’s second-largest provider of express parcel services.
About CDC Climat
CDC Climat is Caisse des Dépôts subsidiary launched in 2010 to tackle climate change by taking action in three areas: investment in carbon assets, development of services to a low carbon economy and research into climate change economics.
Press contact:
Gordon, Liz or Jason at MAW Communications (www.mawcomms.co.uk) on 01603 505 845.