DHL turns off the lights for World Environment Day.

DHL turns off the lights for World Environment Day

* DHL announces employee initiative as part of GoGreen Program * Environmentally conscious workforce to contribute to target of improving carbon efficiency by 30 percent by 2020* Switching the lights off for one hour in DHL offices worldwide would result in savings of approximately 5.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide 

DHL, a leading provider of global express services, today launched the DHL "Lights Off" initiative designed to drive environmental consciousness among employees by turning off their lights in DHL offices across the world for one hour.

Emblematic of DHL's commitment to reducing its environmental impact, the initiative - which includes offices across the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Middle East and North Africa - is part of the company's GoGreen Program that was launched in April this year. The program brings together all elements of its climate change initiatives and will work to improve DHL's carbon efficiency by 30 percent by 2020 when compared to 2007 levels.

"Lights Off" aims to increase the environmental awareness of DHL employees and promotes the responsible use of energy. DHL encourages staff to adjust their daily habits in terms of paper, water and resource usage thereby contributing to making it a more environmentally-friendly company.

John Mullen, CEO of DHL Express, is firmly committed to leading the company towards achieving its environmental targets. "As one of the world's largest and truly global organizations, we recognize the huge impact our employees can have on our environmental footprint. We are supporting our employees in leading a more sustainable life both at work and home. The 'Lights off' initiative will help raise consciousness across the entire DHL workforce. Our GoGreen Program is not driven by management philosophy alone, but we believe that each employee can individually help us achieve our targets and we are particularly proud that our staff are so firmly engaged in this program," Mullen said.

With a network that spans over 220 countries and territories encompassing over 124,000 employees, the impact of simply switching off the lights in all offices across the world for one hour would result in a saving of approximately 5.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to the amount produced in one hour by approximately 250 diesel vans, operating under normal conditions.

Deutsche Post World Net, the parent company of DHL, is the first major logistics provider to set specific and quantifiable CO2 targets that will be applied through a focused approach across four key functions - air, road, real estate and products and services. The company has begun replacing its older Boeing 727 aircraft with newer 757 freighter models that consume less fuel per ton transported.

DHL is also assessing its entire real estate to make environmentally conscious choices in the development of new offices, warehouses and hubs. For example, the recently opened central European air hub in Leipzig, Germany will realize annual savings of 3,000 metric tons of carbon (compared with standard systems) through solar power, rainwater harvesting and the use of a combined heat and power plant.

Christina Koh, Senior Vice-President, Communications and Sustainability, DHL Global Express, who is in charge of implementing the GoGreen Program within the Express corporate division says: "Developing robust environmental policies is no longer merely an option for global organizations and we are pleased that DHL Express is able to lead the way in the express and logistics industry with our sustainable initiatives. "Lights Off" is just one way we are engaging with our global workforce to instill a culture of environmental awareness across the business."

"Lights Off" is one of many projects within the GoGreen offering that works to facilitate a long-term cultural change toward being more environmentally responsible. For example, DHL has been engaging employees to reduce their environmental impact through a driver awareness program - helping drivers to understand the significant impact their driving behavior can have on DHL's fuel efficiency. The Global Head Office based in Bonn also launched a "Car-Free Day", advocating the use of bicycles or carpools to get to work. Further DHL offices worldwide organized various awareness campaigns to provide employees with the opportunity to adapt and demonstrate more sustainable practices in their daily lives.

The World Environment Day, held each year on June 5, is one of the principal events through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The slogan for 2008 is "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." For more information see: http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)