Focus on Sustainability

This refers to the process of eliminating or reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted, e.g. through the combustion of fossil fuels or energy use in buildings.

Gases in the atmosphere that influence the earth's energy balance, causing the Greenhouse Effect. The primary Greenhouse Gases in the earth's atmosphere are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Ozone (O3) and Water Vapor (H2O). 

A GHG emission footprint describes the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents. Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbon dioxide and methane, can be emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels, land clearance and the production and consumption of food, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings, transportation and other services.

A metric measure to express all greenhouse gases in the equivalent of CO2. This is done to make the different greenhouse gasses comparable based on their global warming potential.

Scope 1 emissions:

Direct emissions arising from directly controlled property, vehicles or processes

Scope 2 emissions:

Indirect emissions arising from purchased electricity and district heating / cooling used in directly controlled property, vehicles or processes

Scope 3 emissions:

Indirect emissions arising from subcontracted property, vehicles or processes

Book & Claim is decoupling the physical flow of a product from its environmental attributes. The party that pays for the environmental attributes (e.g., the premium of sustainable fuel vs. fossil fuel) is awarded with the related emission reductions irrespective if the sustainable fuel was used to power that exact vehicle. While this mechanism is creating a critical mass of certified material (e.g., sustainable fuels), it also provides market access to all within the industry, regardless of their location or size.

The One Atmosphere Approach posits that all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions enter the same atmosphere, so as far as the Earth is concerned, it does not matter which vehicle, vessel, or aircraft is burning sustainable fuels instead of fossil fuels. By following the One atmosphere approach and leveraging the Book & Claim mechanism we can scale the usage of sustainable fuels in freight forwarding today. 

It is the most recognized initiative evaluating if corporate emission reduction targets are in line with latest climate science and aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. DHL Group’s climate targets are approved by SBTi.

Insetting represents the actions taken by an organization to fight climate change within its own value chain in a manner that generates positive sustainable impacts. Examples are the use of sustainable fuels to replace fossil fuels in a given mode of transport, usually via book & claim [see also ”how does the book & claim mechanism work”].

Sustainable fuels come from renewable sources. They produce significantly fewer GHG emissions than fossil fuel over their lifecycle. Some known sustainable fuels include biodiesel, ethanol, biomethane and hydrogen.