DPD is adding two new services to its roster: low-emission deliveries in the UK and an express service for fresh and frozen goods in Belgium.
The green service will see the carrier offering zero and low-emission delivery to 25 of the largest UK towns and cities by 2025.
The service, which promises an 89% reduction in carbon emissions and 80% in pollutants in the selected locations, will be offered in major cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
It will be made possible through an investment of €200 million by 2025, including 7000 alternative fuel vehicles and 80 new urban depots. DPD plans to offer such a service in 225 cities across 20 European countries.
Dwain McDonald, DPD’s CEO said: “We’ve led the way on EVs in the UK parcel market, first with our all-electric micro depots in London and then with the scale of our nationwide investment.
“We already have over 700 EVs in the UK and they are in every depot. This is the next stage of our plan, to deliver totally green in 25 of the largest towns and cities in the country, drastically reducing our emissions in the places with the highest populations.
“We know from what we have done in central London that this model works, and we know that shippers and shoppers both love seeing parcels delivered green. So, we have made significant progress already. It is great now to be able to share our longer-term vision and we look forward to turning these 25 towns and cities green.”
The company has also this month announced a new service called DPD fresh, which offers next-day delivery of dry, fresh and frozen products. The carrier uses specially trained drivers, with bespoke facilities, insulated boxes and refrigerated lorries.
Recipients of a delivery will have access to the myDPD application, which notifies them of delivery with a one-hour timeslot.
The initial roll-out across 19 municipalities of Belgian capital Brussels and the Flemish periphery surrounding it. By 2022 the service will be rolled out across Belgium and Luxembourg.
The logic underpinning the service is the performance of French sister company Chronofresh, as well as a market study in Belgium showing demand for such a service
Koen Verlaenen, GM of DPD fresh BeLux, said: “Our motto is optimal freshness door to door. We take care of the collection and delivery of dry food, fresh and frozen products from our customers and deliver them to the recipients under the best possible conditions.
“For dry food, this is done without refrigeration, and for fresh food (fruit, vegetables, meat or fish) at temperatures between 0 and 4°C. All frozen food is stored at -18°C.
“The active cooling network is unique to DPD fresh. We actively cool both in the depots and during transport. This enables our customers to save the often expensive and polluting packaging to keep their goods at the right temperature.”
