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DHL LEADS THE WAY IN ECO-LOGISTICS WITH ITS FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL WAREHOUSE

Press release November 20, 2008 Energy & Environment

• DHL Neutral Services cuts carbon and costs in transformation of UK warehouse for communication company O2 • 760 tonnes of CO2 reduced and neutralized per year

Nov. 18, 2008:DHL, the world's leading express and logistics company, today announced the completion of its first carbon neutral warehouse globally, and the first of its kind in the UK; the 6,500 square foot site near Wakefield West Yorkshire is the location for the main distribution centre of U.K. communication company O2.  The project was implemented by DHL through its in-house carbon consultancy, DHL Neutral Services, as part of the company's industry leading GoGreen Program, which includes a commitment to reduce its carbon by 30 percent by 2020, and improve the cost efficiency of its supply chains.

The transformation of this warehouse to carbon neutral status was achieved by installing a ground source heat pump for heating and cooling which transfers the heat from the ground into the building. In addition, changes were made to energy consumption by installing motion sensors to electric lighting systems, and the warehouse switched to a green energy tariff which provides energy from carbon-reduced sources.

The implementation followed DHL Neutral Services' four-stage carbon reduction model of assessment, reduction, replacement and neutralization, which resulted in 98 percent of the site's carbon emissions being eliminated completely and only the remaining 2 percent requiring offsetting via Gold Standard Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). In total an annual 760 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were reduced and neutralized, which equals the carbon footprint of over 150 return flights from London to Sydney.

Karl W. Feilder, CEO of DHL Neutral Services said: "The combined forces of climate change and the worldwide financial crisis are forcing businesses to rethink every aspect of their supply chain, to address the urgent need in reducing carbon emissions and cutting costs. Every carbon reduction project that DHL has undertaken has identified initiatives to reduce costs.  Our goal is to 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 have been asked about the viability of neutralising supply chains without relying too heavily on offsetting. DHL's work with O2on this carbon neutral facility demonstrates that eco-efficient solutions in the supply chain can be realised."

For O2 the supply chain is an important element to help the company reduce its carbon footprint. "Every company has an important role to play in tackling climate change.  At O2 we're developing lots of different ways to reduce the energy we use," said Nick Lefever, General Manager Supply Chain. "As a distributor and retailer, our supply chain is an important consideration for us in becoming a more sustainable business. Our partnership with DHL in neutralizing our main storage and distribution centre has shown what is possible in terms of carbon reduction and we see this as the first of many such initiatives. We will continue to work together with DHL to identify further carbon reduction strategies for our extended supply chain."

DHL will conduct regular assessment of the site to evaluate emissions from its operations toward continual improvement. Paul Richardson, Divisional Managing Director of DHL's Department Stores & Fashion team that operates the site for O2 adds: "We are constantly seeking ways of improving the impact the retail supply chain has on our environment from the use of the latest vehicle technologies to our most ambitious project of the first carbon neutral distribution centre in the UK."

Customers look to us to lead the industry from both an innovation and investment point of view, and this has been clearly demonstrated by this achievement which has taken considerable investment from both DHL and O2, underpinned by a fully committed team on site. We hope it will become the platform for future retail distribution solutions."

In April 2008, DHL's parent company, Deutsche Post World Net, became the first logistics company to set quantifiable carbon targets through its global climate protection programme - GoGreen, and the site team continues to develop GoGreen 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.

-Ends-

Media Inquiries:

Dan Stewart
Futerra
Tel.:   + 44 (0) 20 7549 4694  
E-Mail: [email protected]

Deutsche Post World Net
Corporate Communications - External Communications
Nicole Mommsen
Tel.:   +49 (0)228 182-9944  
E-Mail: [email protected]

DHL Neutral Services

DHL Neutral Services was created in 2007 to act as an in-house carbon consulting unit for DWPN and its customers.  It brings together research scientists, heating and electrical engineers, management consultants and logistics professionals.  The goal is to help customers manage carbon as they would manage any other aspect of their business - with an eye for operational efficiency and cost reduction.

DHL

DHL is the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, specializing in providing innovative and customized solutions from a single source.

DHL offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport, contract logistic solutions as well as international mail services, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets. DHL's international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. Some 300,000 employees are dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed customers' expectations.

DHL is a Deutsche Post World Net brand. The group generated revenue of more than 63 billion euros in 2007.

DHLDepartment Stores & Fashion

The Department Stores & Fashion Division within the Retail & Consumer Sector of DHL Exel Supply Chain provides services and solutions to high street retailers, department stores and fashion brands with fast moving and reactive supply chains. The Division's solutions and services embrace vendor management, inventory control and on-shelf availability, enabling multi channel supply chains that serve both retail and wholesale operations in a continually evolving fashion industry. Customers have visibility of the whole demand chain, manufacture and source efficiently in line with true demand, enabling them to be more responsive to their customers' needs.Department Stores & Fashion provides a full range of logistics services to O2 and have developed a long and successful partnership.  At the distribution centre near Wakefield, parcels are delivered by DHL to O2's corporate and domestic customers throughout the UK.  The site operates 24-hours-a-day, six days-a-week and employs over 400 personnel.

About O2

Telefónica O2 UK Limited is a leading communications company for consumers and businesses in the UK, with over 18.7 million mobile customers and over 190,000 fixed broadband customers as at 30 June 2008.

  • Telefónica O2 UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc which is a business division of Telefónica S.A. and which owns O2 in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic, and has 43.8 million customers.

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Energy & Environment