The DHL Group has set itself the goal of reducing all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has now confirmed that we are on course. This is both an acknowledgement and a mandate. With the SBTi validation, DHL Group has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the unavoidable minimum in accordance with climate science by 2050.
DHL Group and SBTi Rely on Scientific Standards for Decarbonization
After SBTi recognized DHL Group’s mid-term decarbonization targets for 2030, our long-term plans are now also certified as being on track. What makes the SBTi assessment so valuable for companies like DHL Group is that the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard is the only global reference framework for companies to align their net-zero goals with the latest in climate science. This framework also considers unavoidable residual emissions, which are accepted by SBTi. In this case, carbon neutrality is achieved through measures for the permanent storage of CO2.
Infobox: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
The SBTi is a corporate climate action organization that enables companies and financial institutions around the world to do their bit in combating the climate crisis. It was founded in 2015 as a joint initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
More specifically, the SBTi supports companies in setting their emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement based on science.
By the end of 2023, more than 4,000 companies and financial institutions have driven the transition to a net zero economy by setting emission reduction targets and having them validated by the SBTi.
Our Roadmap to Green Logistics of Choice
Our 2030 corporate strategy has set a new goal for us: to be the green logistics company of choice – and this strategy includes a detailed roadmap for how we will achieve that goal.
Environmental Roadmap 2030
The 2030 environmental roadmap outlines plans to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions to less than 29 million tons of CO2 equivalents, increase the share of sustainable fuels in the fuel mix of our vehicle fleet to more than 30 percent, raise the share of electric vehicles in our local transport fleet to two-thirds, and offer sustainable alternatives for all core products and services.
Environmental Roadmap 2050
The target for 2050 is to actively reduce emissions by 90 percent compared to the base year 2021 and to offset a maximum of 10 percent through carbon storage measures. And this reduction target applies not only to direct emissions, but also to 90 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions generated along our entire value chain. In other words, it also includes processes that we do not cause ourselves (Scope 3 emissions).
However, we cannot achieve these ambitious goals on our own – we can only do so together with our customers and partners. To this end, DHL Group relies on GoGreen Plus, made possible by Book & Claim – a chain-of-custody model that decouples the environmental benefits of sustainable fuels from the physical product and transfers them to a company in the form of a verifiable certificate (just as a green power customer does not necessarily draw wind or solar power directly from the socket, but promotes renewable energy elsewhere through his or her electricity contract).
We strongly believe that Book & Claim will create resources for sustainable fuels and technologies and provide companies with an effective means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
