DHL plans to sell the environmentally friendly Pluspäckchen GoGreen parcel product in all DeutschePost retail outlets in Germany beginning in August 2007. DHL says it is not only the first but also
the only supplier of CO 2 neutral packages and parcels for business and private customers acrossGermany.The parcel is a practical combination of recycled packaging materials and a postal fee thatincludes climate-neutral shipping within Germany. The Pluspäckchen GoGreen comes in two sizes andhas a maximum weight of 20 kilograms. Regardless of the size and weight, the Pluspäckchen GoGreencosts EUR5.99, just like the normal Pluspäckchen, which will be completely replaced by theenvironmentally friendly version.
DHL calculates all CO 2 emissions created by the shipment of a Pluspäckchen parcel andoffsets them through internal and external environmental-protection measures that include theintroduction of vehicles with alternative propulsion systems as well as solar-energy projects inSoutheast Asia and reforestation programs in Latin America. Each year, an independent certificationassociation reviews the environmental-protection projects on the basis of guidelines laid down bythe Kyoto Protocol.
“Our GoGreen Initiative is unique in the logistics industry,” says Uwe Brinks, head of theDivisional Board Package Germany at Deutsche Post. “With this sustainability concept, we are livingup to our social responsibility as the leading logistics company. At the same time, we’re helpingour customers play an active role in environmental protection.”
Deutsche Post World Net launched the GoGreen initiative in 2005 as a pilot project. Since2006, business customers across Europe have been able to send their packages in a climate-neutralmanner. Last year, the Pluspäckchen GoGreen was tested as a product for private customers in 2,000retail outlets of Deutsche Post. Since February 2007, private customers have also been able to shipall packages and parcels in a CO 2 neutral manner within Germany.
