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It is a clearly visible sign for highest quality and environmental standards: DHL Freight has received certification of its global management system by DEKRA based on ISO standards. The first 88 branches have been audited, all others will follow suit until 2020. DHL Freight, as one of the leading providers of road freight services in Europe, is abiding by the highest standards of quality, environmental and energy management. This has been confirmed by the matrix certification of DEKRA, conducted successfully at 88 branches thus far. Scrutinized was the compliance to the provisions of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 standards. With the satisfactory audit it is now on record that these 88 DHL Freight branches fulfil the highest demands due to the unified management system and the local business processes. Until 2020 all branches around the world should be certified accordingly.
Rare standard
Especially the ISO 50001 matrix certification for responsible energy management is a rarity within the global logistics industry. It is a visible sign of compliance with the EU Energy Efficiency Directive as well as the zero emissions commitment by Deutsche Post DHL Group. “Our customers can rest assured that DHL Freight fully complies with strict international quality, environmental and energy guidelines. However, this matrix certification also demonstrates clearly the commitment of all functions and divisions to our Freight 2020 strategy and its consistent execution”, explains Thomas Vogel, COO DHL Freight.
DHL – a driver of innovation
Climate protection is taken rather seriously at Deutsche Post DHL Group. The strategy Freight 2020 by DHL Freight aims at further improving the quality of its logistics services and customer service, while the group-wide Mission 2050 has the reduction of all transport related emissions to net zero by the named year as its goal. Already back in 2008 DHL set ambitious climate protection targets, being the first global logistics company to do so, and accordingly started the GoGreen program. Within that purview the group is undertaking compensation measures for incurring CO2-emissions and at the same time put’s the emphasis on sophisticated new technologies to avoid them altogether.
One of the most prominent projects has been the entry into a partnership with the Aachen based StreetScooter GmbH, which as a one hundred percent subsidiary has risen to become market leader in electronic utility vehicles in Germany by now. In the Federal Republic already more than 8,000 StreetScooter electric transports are on the road delivering mail and parcels.
Another example is the use of four LNG-Trucks by DHL Freight in Belgium. The vehicles are utilized for supply chain upkeep of one of the largest sports goods manufacturers on the globe. And since more or less exactly one year DHL Freight is sending out two FUSO eCanter onto the Berlin roads. The purely electric driven 7.5-ton-lorries are being used for local delivery purposes. And these are only a few of the many projects, but their impact is noticeable: The StreetScooter alone save about 26,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions any given year.
Strengthening the customers trust
DHL Freight is constantly at work to improve operational procedures and raise standards, as this is in line with customer demands as well as environmental sensible. The auditing and confirmation of the actions taken through independent agencies is an important building block in this regard, because it does help to avoid falling to much for internal perceptions. “DEKRA has now confirmed what we sought to achieve when we introduced our global management system: We are moving successfully towards our clean energy goals and the quality demands we set for ourselves in our DHL Freight Strategy 2020. Rather than being mutually exclusive, economic success and sustainability are decisive cornerstones on our way becoming the undisputed market leader in the road freight business”, states Uwe Brinks, CEO DHL Freight.
The International Organization for Standardization, based in Geneva, is the affiliation of the national standards institutions and establishes standards for nearly all areas of interest, excluding electrics, electronics and telecommunications.
- ISO 9001 Quality management
The standard contains general requirements for quality management systems, defines responsibilities and basic rules of management as well as discussing resources consumption and product realization. Also audited are control mechanisms for supervision, measurement, data analytics and process improvement. - ISO 14001 Environmental management
This standard codifies the expectations for a functioning environmental management system. Thereby the compliance with pre-defined environmental goals by means of appropriate definition and planning of these aims and operational processes is finally meant. Also, the implementation of these plans, the supervision and monitoring as well as the optimization of process steps is met with certain expectations. - ISO 50001 Energy management
The energy efficiency of corporations and other organizations shell be improved with the help of this standard. To do that it is necessary to develop an energy goal as a strategic target as well as the operational implementation to do just that. Accordingly, the standard offers guidelines for stocktaking, introduction, execution and also for continuous evaluation.