Tuesday 29 September 2020

DHL Global Forwarding pledges to use maritime biofuels to decarbonise ocean freight

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group, has committed to neutralising the carbon emissions of all less-than-container load (LCL) ocean freight shipments from 1st January 2020.

It says the step will be achieved with the use of maritime biofuels and at no extra cost to the customer - the programme also pledges to prioritise carriers with 'strong' environmental performance.

Deutsche Post DHL Group has also launched a plan to optimise the carbon efficiency of the company’s transport network, fleet, and real estate.

This includes reducing energy consumption, increasing the use of renewable energy sources and fuels, and optimising transportation networks as well as pick-up and delivery routing.

Tim Scharwath, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Freight, commented: "To fight against climate change, the transport sector needs true decarbonisation.

"For us at DHL Global Forwarding, sustainable fuel solutions are the key lever to change the fuel mix and ultimately reduce carbon emissions in ocean freight."

According to EU figures, maritime transport emits around 940 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and is responsible for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.