DHL Express has signed a strategic partnership with leading cross-border bank Standard Chartered for the GoGreen Plus service.
Under this agreement, the two companies have agreed to jointly invest in sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”) so that Standard Chartered can offset the CO₂ emissions associated with its upstream logistics through high-quality Verified Emission Reductions (VER). As of January 1, 2024, Standard Chartered has been one of the first banks worldwide to use the DHL GoGreen Plus service.
The Bank has committed to reducing its own emissions to zero by 2025 and those of the projects it finances by 2050. It also works with partners to make its supply chain more sustainable. The DHL partnership is an example of this. By partnering with DHL, Standard Chartered is helping the logistics service provider expand its use of SAF, which can help reduce the lifecycle emissions of conventional aviation fuel by up to 80 percent compared to conventional aviation fuel. In return, the bank expects to reduce its own emissions by up to 30 percent in the first year (compared to a base year 2019) and an expected additional reduction of seven percent per year from 2025. The bank estimates that 3,780 tonnes of CO2 will be saved between 2024 and 2030. As part of GoGreen Plus, the bank receives a monthly report on the carbon footprint of its shipments and a quarterly certification of the emission reductions achieved by an independent auditor.
Strong partnership for sustainable transport
“The partnership between Standard Chartered and DHL has been going on for more than two decades. They were the first bank to launch our GoGreen service in 2011 and are now working with us to make international express shipping more sustainable,” said Yung C. Ooi, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Asia Pacific, DHL Express. “The fact that we offer the GoGreen Plus service through the use of SAF in our international network lays the foundation for this. We hope that this agreement will inspire other companies to switch to low-emission transport services using sustainable aviation fuel.”
“As a leading provider of trade finance, our clients trust us to handle their critical trade and shipping documents to protect their business interests and ensure a seamless execution of transactions,” says Khuresh Faizullabhoy, Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Trade at Standard Chartered. “As the digitisation of trade documents progresses, through this agreement to increase the use of SAF with our logistics partner DHL Express, we will jointly reduce the emissions that would otherwise be generated by this important service. This is a win-win for our customers and is in line with our own commitment to achieving net zero emissions at Standard Chartered.”
Net zero emissions by 2050 is the goal
In 2023, DHL Express launched the GoGreen Plus service, which enables customers to reduce the CO2 e-emissions associated with their air freight with the help of SAF. GoGreen Plus is made possible by three of the most important SAF contracts with BP, Neste and World Energy. SAF is made from alternative feedstocks with a sustainable energy profile, including used cooking oil, waste and hydrogen. Conventional carbon-intensive aviation fuels or kerosene are derived from mineral oil.
GoGreen Plus is part of DHL Group’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The air freight network is responsible for around 90 percent of the company’s CO2 footprint, which is why sustainable air transport solutions are crucial for greener logistics.
