DHL has completed its first carbon neutral warehouse globally for O2, which it says is the first of its kind in the UK, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 760 tonnes.
The 65,000 sq ft site near Wakefield West Yorkshire features a ground source heat pump and cooling system which transfers the heat from the ground into the building.
Changes were also made to energy consumption by installing motion sensors to electric lighting systems and the warehouse switched to a green energy tariff which provides energy from carbon-reduced sources.
DHL will now conduct regular assessments of the site to evaluate emissions.
The warehouse was set up through DHL’s in-house carbon consultancy, DHL Neutral Services as part of its GoGreen Programme, in which it has committed to reduce its carbon by 30 per cent by 2020 and improve the cost efficiency of its supply chain.
The implementation followed DHL Neutral Services’ four-stage carbon reduction model of assessment, reduction, replacement and neutralisation, which resulted in 98 per cent of the site’s carbon emissions being eliminated completely and the remaining two per cent requiring offsetting via Gold Standard Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
Karl W. Feilder, CEO of DHL Neutral Services, said: “The combined forces of climate change and the worldwide financial crisis are forcing businesses to rethink every aspect of their supply chain, to address the urgent need in reducing carbon emissions and cutting costs. Every carbon reduction project that DHL has undertaken has identified initiatives to reduce costs.
“Our goal is to help customers manage their carbon as they would manage any other aspect of their business – with an eye for operational efficiency and cost reduction. As part of that, many questions have been asked about the viability of neutralising supply chains without relying too heavily on offsetting. DHL’s work with O2 on this carbon neutral facility demonstrates that eco-efficient solutions in the supply chain can be realised.”
