Green delivery in 225 European cities by 2025

Zagreb |  October 29^th, 2020

“Today we are accelerating our commitment for the planet with an ambitious reduction of our environmental footprint in European cities. DPDgroup will invest €200 million by 2025, contributing to a better quality of life in 225 cities all over Europe.” - Boris Winkelmann, Chairman & CEO of GeoPost / DPDgroup. 

Our vision by 2025:
• 225 green cities rolled out in 20 countries
• 80 million inhabitants delivered with low-emission delivery solutions¹
• 7,000 alternative delivery vehicles deployed (electric, natural gas, cargo bikes, etc.)
• 80 new urban depots through Europe

Details in appendix 1 - Cities covered account for 80 million inhabitants to whom DPDgroup will deliver parcels with low-emission means. 

Green delivery in 225 European cities by 2025

Urban transport of goods is responsible for up to 30% of CO₂ emissions in cities. Atmospheric pollution, the primary source of which is road traffic, is suspected to shorten life expectancy by 15 months for those living in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (2018 European Air Quality report by the European Environment Agency). It is for these reasons that DPDgroup has targeted the largest cities of Europe for the start of this initiative.

This ambition relies on a new delivery model DPDgroup has been trialing in many cities throughout Europe for several years now. Many initiatives have already been implemented by DPD in cities such as London, Hamburg, Warsaw and Dublin, and more recently by Chronopost in Paris, the first European city fully delivered with low-emission solutions starting late 2019. The idea is to take previous experiences and apply them to the entire DPDgroup over time.

„Conscious of our responsibility to the planet and its people, we aim to be the most sustainable delivery company in Europe. We’ve decided to act pragmatically by reducing our emissions in cities with the highest populations,” explains Boris Winkelmann.

By 2025 DPDgroup will reduce its last mile carbon footprint rigorously in the cities targeted, decreasing its CO₂ emissions by 89% and pollutants by 80% compared to 2020.

„Our long-term objective is to build on this first ambitious plan of deploying zero- and low- emission delivery solutions in the 225 largest cities of Europe in order to become fully CO₂-free in our last mile activities within the next 20 years,” concludes Boris Winkelmann.

7,000 new alternative vehicles and 80 new urban depots

To achieve the ambition of 225 green cities, DPDgroup will deploy 7,000 new alternative vehicles, 3,600 charging points and 80 new urban depots. These initiatives represent an investment of €200 million in total by 2025.

The new fleet of alternative delivery vehicles will consist of different types of vehicles, depending on the city in which they will be used. The choice of vehicle type will depend on the size of the streets within the city centre, traffic regulations, delivery needs… We will use electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, electric bicycles, and parcels will be delivered on foot. DPD Croatia has already introduced delivery by electric bicycle and on foot in Zagreb, we will soon introduce delivery by rickshaw, and we plan to apply these delivery methods to other large Croatian cities.

The launch of 80 new micro and urban depots will help to further optimise delivery processes, local operations adaption and customer proximity. We are extremely proud that DPD Croatia will be the first delivery service company in Croatia to present such a solution soon in the capital, at 21 Gundulićeva Street! With the new 80 depots, the total number of such city depots available to DPDgroup will be more than 200.

Acting for green delivery – DPDgroup’s long-standing ambition

Since 2012, DPDgroup has been committed to responsible delivery through its Corporate Social Responsibility programme DrivingChange^TM inherent to its identity and actions. From an environmental perspective, DPDgroup has implemented several initiatives with its various stakeholders in mind. More information is provided in the appendix 2.

„Acting for green delivery has been a long-standing ambition for us at DPDgroup. We are actively diminishing our carbon footprint with green delivery solutions we will have rolled out to 225 European cities by 2025. The objective is to be the partner of choice for customers and city authorities, helping them in their sustainable development programmes and jointly making a better planet, because we all share the same address,” states Boris Winkelmann.