Providing transparency

At the heart of our GoGreen program is our Group-wide CO₂ efficiency target. We strive to improve our CO₂ efficiency, including our subcontractors’ operations, by 30 % by the year 2020, compared to 2007 levels. As an intermediate step, we have set the target to improve our own CO₂ efficiency by 10 % by 2012.

Following the management saying “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”, we see transparency on our CO₂ footprint as an underlying prerequisite to identify efficiency improvement measures and track our GoGreen program’s progress. Therefore, we implemented a carbon accounting and controlling system, based on the internationally accepted Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the ISO 14064 standard.

In 2009, we linked the carbon accounting to our financial accounting system as a basis for improving our CO₂ data quality, managing our emissions at the relevant level, and tracking our progress automatically. Now we are able to capture our direct CO₂ emissions via our financial system by linking billing data to CO₂ relevant consumption data (fuel, kerosene and energy consumption of our own fleet and buildings). This leads to an increased accuracy of our reported CO₂ data and is an important step to improve our comprehensive carbon accounting and controlling, helping to verify it according to financial standards.

Carbon accounting and controlling helps us to manage efficiency improvements within our Group. CO₂ efficiency is already an important key performance indicator for our strategic planning and is taken into account as a decision criterion for investments at Deutsche Post DHL.

The biggest challenge is the lack of standards and best practices, especially with regard to our subcontractors’ efficiency data. At Deutsche Post DHL, such Scope 3 emissions contribute about 80 % of the Group’s total carbon footprint. We are constantly improving our subcontractor management to obtain better transparency of their CO₂ efficiency and select and manage them accordingly. As part of a cross-regional pilot in 2009, we asked more than 100 road subcontractors about their ability and willingness to share CO₂ efficiency data. Based on the pilot’s findings, we will set up a survey with a wider scope to gather data from our road carriers in 2010.