At the Netherland-America Foundation’s (NAF) prestigious annual ball on 18 November in New York, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) presented its Sustainability Award to DHL Global Forwarding. This award, received by DHL Global Forwarding’s Americas CEO, Tim Robertson, is not only a clear sign of appreciation for the partnership between AFKLMP Cargo and DHL, but also important recognition of DHL Global Forwarding’s sustainability leadership in the logistics sector.
Earlier this year, DHL Global Forwarding and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo announced a groundbreaking agreement under which DHL purchased 33 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from AFKLMP Cargo for the period 2022-2024.
Both parties have now agreed to further intensify this partnership by expanding their focus on SAF to include the collaborative development of other sustainability initiatives. Both parties possess valuable knowledge and expertise. Joining forces in this way allows them to create synergies that will enable decisive action to be taken to increase the sustainability of airfreight chain logistics.
“This award is for everyone at DHL Global Forwarding that is collaborating to make our business more sustainable,” Tim Robertson, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Americas, said. “SAF plays an important role in our GoGreen Plus service and ultimately on our way towards reaching our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and we could not have done it without our partners at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved so far, and cannot wait to see what we’ll continue to achieve together.”
Read more: Air France-KLM pushes its sustainability targets forward
“We are very happy and honoured to have built such a strong partnership with DHL Global Forwarding and specifically in the field of sustainability. This clearly shows that only through a shared vision and tangible collaboration can we bring about the necessary changes in our air- freight industry. We are convinced that the willingness of companies to reduce their logistics activities’ carbon emissions will increase, as will the commitment to SBti- validated targets for 2030 and the ultimate goal of net zero CO2 by 2050,” GertJan Roelands, SVP Commercial at AFKLMP Cargo, explained.
“We are seeing that customers who budget for the use of SAF and view it as an investment in sustainability, are more successful in meeting their CO2 reduction targets for air freight compared to companies who view the use of SAF purely as a logistics cost.”
In 2020, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo was the first air cargo carrier to launch a fully customer-oriented Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programme. More than 40 companies from all over the world have now joined this programme.
In October, AFKLMP Cargo introduced another novelty with the goSAF option, which allows customers to reduce their carbon emissions per booked shipment by making a direct investment in SAF. This new feature in AFKLMP’s myCargo booking portal, seems to be being widely embraced. In the first week alone, after the feature was introduced, an SAF contribution was added to more than 1000 bookings.
Read more: Air France KLM Martinair Cargo and Jan de Rijk Logistics introduce new LHV
Air France-KLM sustainability commitment
In October 2021, the Air France-KLM Group committed to having its decarbonisation trajectory validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), ensuring that its targets are in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Air France-KLM’s decarbonisation trajectory includes an ambitious plan to renew the Group’s airline fleet with next generation aircraft emitting 20%-25% less CO2. Searching for greater efficiency in its operations, favouring more direct routes and applying procedures that limit fuel consumption (lighter aircraft, single-engine taxiing, continuous descent) are all part of AFKL’s sustainability efforts. Air France and KLM have set themselves the target of making their ground operations carbon neutral by 2030.
In addition, Air France-KLM is mobilising the entire sector and is committed to developing innovative solutions for aircraft design, maintenance, engines and synthetic fuels, which will gradually lead to carbon-free aviation.
Deutsche Post DHL Group sustainability commitment
As a division of Deutsche Post DHL Group, DHL Global Forwarding has committed to achieving net zero transport-related emissions by 2050. To achieve this mission DHL recently introduced the GoGreen Plus service. Following the insetting approach, emissions are reduced by replacing the amount of conventional fossil fuel needed with sustainable fuel. Customers can easily pick and choose which parts of their supply chain they want to truly decarbonise. The GoGreen Plus Service can be easily added while booking online, e.g., an air freight shipment via the myDHLi customer platform. The launch of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s decarbonised range of GoGreen Plus services is a crucial milestone in making the global logistics industry greener and more sustainable.
In addition, DHL assesses the sustainability efforts of its partners through the GoGreen carrier evaluation programme, which gives preference to carriers with strong environmental performance. Air France KLM Martinair is one of DHL Global Forwarding’s key carriers and has been one of the top three GoGreen carriers for many years.
