Zalando will install solar panels and other green technology distribution centre footprint by 2023 as it seeks to meet its emissions targets.
The goal will also see the German retailer including a green building certification in all new buildings, which verifies that buildings are designed to conserve resources.
The fast fashion retailer is installing more solar panels in its fulfilment centre in Milan and retrofitting its centres in Moenchengladbach and Erfurt. It will include them at its new distribution centre in Bleiswijk near Rotterdam, which will aim to provide enough energy to run the entire site.
The company announced it would begin offsetting all carbon from delivery and returns at the end of October. Other initiatives include using electric vehicles in Hamburg.
Zalando already has panels at its fulfilment centre in Verona. It introduced a solar installation in Lahr in July 2019, which now provides nearly 800,000 kWh of power per year, roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 200 households. This avoids 425 tonnes of carbon per year.
Raimund Paetzmann, VP corporate real estate, said: “We are continuously looking into new technologies that will help us reduce our environmental impact. We are committed to using only renewable or CO2 neutral energy in the future.”
