Environmentally friendly courier deliveries will require alignment among partners on use of low-emission fuel, says DHL executive

A scarcity of low-carbon synthetic aviation fuel is one technical issue that needs to be tackled, says the courier giant’s head of global forwarding and freight units

The German firm aims to electrify 60 per cent of its car fleet, or roughly 80,000 vehicles, by 2030

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DHL announced in March a plan to plough €7 billion (US$8.31 billion) into alternative aviation fuels. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:30am, 8 Jul 2021Updated: 9:44am, 8 Jul 2021

The global freight industry needs to cooperate with its aviation and marine transport partners to achieve ambitious decarbonisation goals, according to a senior executive at logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL Group.

A scarcity of low-emission synthetic aviation fuel is one technical issue that needs to be tackled, besides setting up a distribution network to make it available for planes at airports, said Tim Scharwath, CEO of DHL’s global forwarding and freight units.

“It’s important to align these goals with other players, to make sure they also want to use more synthetic fuels,” he said in an interview. “There’s a debate about who pays for it – end consumers, customers, or us. This has just started and I don‘t know where it will lead to.”

DHL announced in March a plan to plough €7 billion (US$8.31 billion) into alternative aviation fuels, vehicle fleet electrification and carbon-neutral offices, warehouses and logistics buildings by 2030 as part of its goal of becoming carbon-neutral 20 years after that.

The company aims to ensure 30 per cent of the fuel used by its own fleet of aeroplanes and that of its partner airlines is zero-emission, synthetic fuel by 2030.

At least 30 per cent of the fuel used in its line haul – the transport of goods to its planes by air, railway, road and waterways – will also be sustainable if it hits its targets.