DHL announced the completion of its first carbon-neutral warehouse globally, located nearWakefield, in West Yorkshire, UK, which is the location for the main distribution centre of British
communication company O2.The company’s in-house carbon consultancy, DHL Neutral Services, implemented the project aspart of the GoGreen program, which includes a commitment to reduce its carbon by 30% by 2020, andimprove the cost efficiency of its supply chains.
The transformation of the 604 sqm warehouse to carbon-neutral status was achieved byinstalling a ground source heat pump for heating and cooling which transfers the heat from theground into the building. In addition, changes were made to energy consumption by installing motionsensors to electric lighting systems, and the warehouse switched to a green energy tariff whichprovides energy from carbon-reduced sources.
The implementation followed DHL Neutral Services’ four-stage carbon reduction model ofassessment, reduction, replacement and neutralization, which resulted in 98% of the site’s carbonemissions being eliminated completely and only the remaining 2% requiring offsetting via GoldStandard Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). In total an annual 760 tonnes of carbon dioxideemissions were reduced and neutralized.
CEO of DHL Neutral Services, Karl W. Feilder, said: “The combined forces of climate changeand the worldwide financial crisis are forcing businesses to rethink every aspect of their supplychain, to address the urgent need in reducing carbon emissions and cutting costs. Every carbonreduction project that DHL has undertaken has identified initiatives to reduce costs. Our goal isto help customers manage their carbon as they would manage any other aspect of their business –with an eye for operational efficiency and cost reduction. As part of that, many questions havebeen asked about the viability of neutralising supply chains without relying too heavily onoffsetting. DHL’s work with O2 on this carbon neutral facility demonstrates that eco-efficientsolutions in the supply chain can be realised.”
For O2, the supply chain is an important element to help the company reduce its carbonfootprint. “Every company has an important role to play in tackling climate change. At O2 we’redeveloping lots of different ways to reduce the energy we use,” said Nick Lefever, General ManagerSupply Chain at O2. “As a distributor and retailer, our supply chain is an important considerationfor us in becoming a more sustainable business. Our partnership with DHL in neutralizing our mainstorage and distribution centre has shown what is possible in terms of carbon reduction and we seethis as the first of many such initiatives. We will continue to work together with DHL to identifyfurther carbon reduction strategies for our extended supply chain.”
In April 2008, DPWN became the first logistics company to set quantifiable carbon targetsthrough its global climate protection program GoGreen, and the site team continues to developGoGreen initiatives including a world environmental day promotion, an active car sharing scheme,recyclingbanks and the creation of a wildlife area in association with the RSPB.
