First Sustainability Day of Deutsche Post DHL in Bonn

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For the first time, Deutsche Post DHL is issuing an invitation to attend a Sustainability Day at its head office in Bonn. The event will focus on a dialog with representatives from different areas of society on such issues as corporate responsibility in the 21st century, the changing demands of the world of work on employers and employees and the expectations of investors for sustainable corporate management.

Discussion partners include the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Gerd Hoofe, the Deputy Director of the Institute for Employment and Research, Dr. Ulrich Walwei, scientist and politician, Professor Ernst von Weizsäcker, the Deputy Chair of the ver.di trade union's National Executive, Andrea Kocsis, along with Walter Scheurle, the member of the Board of Management for Personnel at Deutsche Post DHL and his colleague Larry Rosen, the Board member for Finance. The Sustainability Day will be moderated by Ranga Yogeshwar, a journalist well known as the host of a number of science programs on TV."Urgent social issues require an open discussion with all the significant actors involved", says Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. "As a globally active company, we wish to help shape the dialog on sustainable business."

For Deutsche Post DHL, the Sustainability Day is another opportunity to put its own sustainability strategy to the test in a dialog. As part of the Group's Strategy 2015, the company is concentrating on its sustainability programs in the areas of environmental protection, education and disaster management, GoGreen, GoTeach and GoHelp, under the heading of "Living Responsibility".

"Living Responsibility" at Deutsche Post DHL

CEO Frank Appel in the driver seat of an electric DHL delivery van Zoom Download Frank Appel took the opportunity to showcase Deutsche Post DHL's eco-friendly delivery vehicles. The logistics sector has a crucial role to play in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The Group's environmental protection program, GoGreen, has made it the first in the logistics sector to set itself a concrete carbon emissions target: to improve its efficiency by 30 per cent by 2020, compared to 2007. That means in concrete terms, reducing the carbon emissions for every letter sent, every container transported and every square meter of space used. Even now, more than 3,000 vehicles are on the road for Deutsche Post DHL with hybrid or electric engines, aerodynamic modifications or alternative fuels like bio-fuel or natural gas.

The green dispatch service GOGREEN for private and corporate customers is also on the up and up. Thus last year alone, well over a billion GOGREEN items were dispatched. Here, Deutsche Post DHL compensates for the CO2 emissions arising in transit with external climate protection projects. In 2012, it is anticipated that customers will also have the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions by assisting with the Deutsche Post DHL's first own climate protection project in Lesotho, southern Africa. This project meets the highest verification standards.

As an employer with around 500,000 staff, qualifications and education are decisive for the company's success. Within the framework of its GoTeach program, the Group has been a global partner of the international organization Teach For All since 2010. Deutsche Post DHL and national organizations of Teach For All are committed in India, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Spain to better education and assistance for children and young people. In Germany, the company is also a founding partner and the largest supporter of Teach First Deutschland. Locally too, the Group sees itself under an obligation and feels the wish to help its "home town" of Bonn: Here, schools and universities, but also music competitions and cultural activities are supported.

In disaster relief, Deutsche Post DHL is active with its Disaster Response Teams (DRT) and its program GoHelp. As a partner of the United Nations, the volunteer staff organize the aid materials at the affected airports for further transportation within a short period. In addition, the Group has developed a crisis prevention concept which has already been put into action in Nepal and Indonesia, entitled "Get Airports Ready for Disaster" (GARD).

Staff are also committed worldwide via the Group's in-house assistance fund, "We help each other" and collect donations for colleagues affected by natural disasters. Deutsche Post DHL also supports the multi-faceted and voluntary commitment of its employees through a "Living Responsibility Fund".