DHL Sweden switches to eco-friendly company car fleet

The intention is that by 2020 at the latest, DHL will have improved its carbon efficiency by 30 percent in comparison to 2007 levels.

By optimizing the utilization of resources in its own operations and on the part of its subcontractors, the aim is to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint by a third for each individual package, each individual consignment, and at each workplace.

All operations within DHL, as well as those within DHL's parent, Deutsche Post World Net, are contributing to meet these objectives.

In the future, DHL employees in Sweden will only be able to choose from a selection of cars that run on alternative fuels such as ethanol, biogas, natural gas, or electricity. "The experience of DHL staff who already use environmentally-friendly company cars has been very positive.

This is in spite of the fact that trips need a certain amount of planning, as the number of petrol stations offering alternative fuels is still relatively limited. Nevertheless, it seemed natural to take this important step," said Morten Mårvad, Fleet and Equipment Manager for three DHL companies in Sweden.

Current non-environmentally-friendly company cars will be replaced within the next three years. "Our leasing program runs for a three-year period, which means that this is a completely realistic target. But things may well move even quicker, as this is something that we are prioritizing," Mårvad said.

DHL currently has 193, or about 44 percent of the total fleet, running on alternative fuels in Sweden. Common models within the DHL company car fleet are the SAAB 9-3 BioPower, the SAAB 9-5 BioPower and the Volvo V70 Flexifuel, all part of the Vägverket (Swedish National Road Administration) list of eco-friendly vehicles. Overall, DHL is investing approximately an additional SEK 20,000 on each environmentally friendly company car.

DHL is investing an additional on each environmentally friendly car

DHL currently has 193, or about 44 percent of the total fleet, running on alternative fuels in Sweden.

Common models within the DHL company car fleet are the SAAB 9-3 BioPower, the SAAB 9-5 BioPower and the Volvo V70 Flexifuel, all part of the Vägverket (Swedish National Road Administration) list of eco-friendly vehicles. Overall, DHL is investing approximately an additional SEK 20,000 on each environmentally friendly company car.

Leaseplan, the vehicle leasing company, which currently has 600 customers and 25,000 cars out on lease, welcomes the decision.

"DHL is one of the first of our corporate customers to make the decision to have a company fleet consisting entirely of clean cars. This issue has been the subject of some keen discussion among our customers, but so far few have taken a step in this direction. This is why I welcome the DHL decision, which, in its own way, makes history, and I hope that it will serve as an inspiration to more companies," says Arne Persson, CEO of Leaseplan.

It is not just in terms of company cars that DHL has decided to invest in the environment. Earlier in the year DHL Express also decided to replace all its diesel-powered courier vehicles with environmentally-friendly alternatives. The decision involved just over 200 courier vehicles that are mainly used for picking up packages from and delivering them to customers in built-up areas.