PLANTATION, FLA —  DHL has launched a coordinated Lighting Retrofit Program at it’s Global Forwarding unit in the Americas region – as part of an aggressive interim target of five percent CO2 efficiency improvement by the end of 2010. 

 The program will initially be rolled out in the United States before expanding to Canada and Mexico.

 As part of Deutsche Post DHL and its GoGreen climate protection program, DHL Global Forwarding has committed to improving it’s CO2 efficiency by 30 percent by 2020.  

 In conventional warehousing operations, the single largest source of electrical energy consumption is the lighting used within the facility.  A highly impactful carbon abatement strategy for facilities is therefore the implementation of energy efficient lighting setup and equipment.

 The rollout of the lighting retrofit program at DHL Global Forwarding will start with operations in the United States.  The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania operation will be the first facility to undergo the lighting retrofit with Atlanta, Georgia, Dallas, Texas; and Miami, Florida to follow.  The San Juan, Puerto Rico operations is also planned in the initial rollout before expanding into Canada and Mexico; where assessments are already under way.

 By the end of the year, five percent CO2 efficiently improvements for DHL Global Forwarding’s operations in the United States and Puerto Rico will be achieved with a utility cost reduction of 50 percent and a projected CO2 reduction of 52 percent.

 The logistics industry as a whole provides services that rely on varying amounts of carbon emissions through any combination of air, ocean, truck or rail transportation.  According to a recent Delphi (2009) Study “climate change and its consequences will have a far-reaching effect on logistics. As one of the largest producers of CO2 emissions, the logistics industry will find itself in a particularly difficult position and under close scrutiny.  The rising price of oil and the demand by customers for “green supply chains” will require enormous investments and technological innovation.”

 “It is our core value proposition to be the First Choice for our Customers by improving the efficiency of their supply chains, identifying solutions that reduce their Carbon Footprint, while providing transparency for the entire end-to-end process.  Implementing a lighting retrofit program in our operations in the Americas, is one of the ways DHL Global Forwarding helps to protect the environment – and optimize operational costs.” said Sonia Nun~ez, Head of GoGreen for DHL Global Forwarding, Americas.

DHL Global Forwarding operations in Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles California have already put in place energy efficient lighting setups. 

  In February 2008 the Toronto, Ontario facility in Canada was built in keeping with Deutsche Post DHL’s global commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.  The advanced lighting system installed in the new facility is expected to yield a 73 percent reduction in energy consumption for lighting.  In addition, the building’s environmentally friendly design will result in greenhouse and noxious gas emission reductions equal to savings of more than 15,000 gallons of gasoline a year or driving 956 fewer miles each day.