DHL IS INVESTING €7BN IN GREEN TECHNOLOGIES UP UNTIL 2030

by 2030 on its mission to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

He says: “More and more customers are asking for sustainable transport solutions, so it will be key to soon set minimum binding standards that reflect the more costly but cleaner products in customers’ carbon footprints.

“This can help create an industrywide cycle that drives forward the decarbonisation of transport.”

But, says Brinks, all organisations’ sustainabiity efforts would benefit from “a legislative framework that stimulates and rewards climate-friendly investments”.

He adds: “Levies have to be realigned, for instance, and carbon prices for fuel should only have to be paid once, either via certificate trading or through an energy tax.”

He also points out that technologies that are being widely discussed for road freight transport, such as green hydrogen, won’t reach market maturity until 2030.

“But we want to take action now,” he says, “so the political environment needs to create incentives for bridge technologies, such as bio-LNG and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil).” He adds: “Toll exemptions, tolerance in regard to

EU tax regulations and the eligibility of such biofuels to count toward carbon reduction targets are crucial factors to achieve the climate policy objectives over the next decade.

“And we must quickly ramp-up production capacity and charging infrastructure for electric and hydrogen technologies across Europe.”

He also says that policies that are detrimental to the climate should be rolled back, such as the rule mandating the return of trucks every eight weeks that results in empty runs.

He adds: “At DHL Freight we’re already helping our customers meet their own climate protection goals.

“Our portfolio of green products and solutions help minimise or prevent logistics-related emissions, waste and other negative impacts on the environment across the entire supply chain.

“Combined with transparency, emissions-related supply chain optimization and certified offsetting measures, we are the pioneers of green logistics.”