DHL Express and Standard Chartered embark on green path

The integrator and the British multinational bank have signed a strategic partnership to reduce CO₂ emissions on their common path to reaching net zero. The lever for this is the DHL product, GoGreen Plus, under which both companies have agreed to co-invest in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This will lower the bank’s emissions linked to its upstream logistics, and scale up SAF production.

Standard Chartered has committed to net zero in its own operations by 2025. What was not included in its environmental data so far were the upstream transports of its customers’ shipments. These are not bulk goods, but usually urgent documents, important business papers or credit cards that need to be sent to customers by air freight via the integrator’s global network, explains spokeswoman, Sabine Hartmann from DHL Express. She declined to quantify the expected volumes of the Standard Chartered deal, citing existing confidentiality agreements.

Saving CO₂ will be rewarded
These upstream delivery services which add to fossil gases in the atmosphere, have not been included in Standard Chartered’s environmental statistics to date.

But this now changes: the bank management’s decision to co-invest in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), allows Standard Chartered to balance CO₂ emissions caused by its supplies, with high quality Verified Emission Reductions (VER) carbon credits.

Through its cooperation with DHL Express, Standard Chartered enables the integrator to scale the use of SAF, which – compared with traditional Jet A-1 kerosene – can help to reduce lifecycle emissions of typical aviation fuel by up to 80%. In turn, it expects to see its own related emissions reduced by up to 30% in year one (against a 2019 baseline), with an expected incremental reduction of 7% year-on-year from 2025 onward. The bank estimates that 3,780 tons CO₂ emissions will be saved between 2024 and 2030. An independent auditor will issue a monthly report on the carbon footprint of the bank and submit a quarterly report documenting the greenhouse gas savings achieved.

DHL hopes for imitative effects
“The partnership between Standard Chartered and DHL has been going strong for more than two decades. They were the first bank to adopt our GoGreen service in 2011, and are now working with us to make international express shipping more sustainable,” explains Yung C. Ooi, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Asia Pacific, DHL Express.

The executive goes on to say: “The fact that we are offering the GoGreen Plus service through the use of SAF in our international network, lays the foundation for this. We hope this agreement will inspire other companies to transition to low-emission transportation services using sustainable aviation fuel.”

Environmental pact
Khuresh Faizullabhoy, Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Trade at Standard Chartered, responds with these words: “As a leading provider of trade finance, our customers entrust us to handle their crucial trade & shipping documents to safeguard their business interests and ensure seamless transactional delivery. Whilst the digitization of trade documentation is progressing, through this agreement to scale the use of SAF with our logistics partner, DHL Express, we will jointly drive down emissions that would otherwise be generated from this essential service. This is a win-win for our customers and in line with our own commitment to delivering net zero across Standard Chartered.”

Already since 2007, business customers are offered booking DHL’s GoGreen service for their own consignments. The product was expanded in 2011, allowing private customers to jump on the environmental bandwagon. Since then, emissions caused by air transports of products flying under the GoGreen label, are subsequently offset by investments in climate protection projects.

Using SAF beats compensation projects
GoGreen Plus was initially kicked off in the UK on 16FEB23, and rolled out worldwide thereafter. It is a main tool of the DHL Group’s goal to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and allows customers to reduce the CO₂ emissions associated with their air shipments by requesting freighters to be fueled with SAF. According to the integrator, its air freight network accounts for around 90% of the company’s carbon footprint, so sustainable air transportation solutions, including feeder services and upstream transports are crucial for greener logistics.