CEO: DHL har forbundet folk over hele verden de seneste 50 år

I år kan DHL fejre, at det er 50 år siden, at Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom og Robert Lynn fik idéen til det, der i dag er en af verdens førende logistikvirksomheder. I den anledning fortæller CEO i DHL Express, John Pearson, i et interview, at virksomhedens mål stadig er at forbinde folk og hjælpe til med at forenkle hverdagen ved hjælp af innovative teknologiske løsninger.

Læs også: DHL og StreetScooter annoncerer samarbejde om nyt elektrisk leveringskøretøj

Vi bringer herunder interviewet, der er foretaget af DHL selv, i sin oprindelige form:

John, you have been an integral part of DHL’s history for many years and have witnessed some of the company’s major milestones. What are you particularly proud of?
DHL revolutionized the world economy 50 years ago with an idea. And today, as the world’s leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group’s aspiration is still to connect people all over the world. With innovative logistics and transport solutions, we want to help simplify their everyday lives, whether private or professional.

I have been a part of this Group for over 33 years, and I can look back on many developments of ours that have had a lasting impact on the industry. We test and deploy innovative technologies along the entire supply chain to make the delivery and transport process as efficient as possible and to assist our employees in their work. In addition to using augmented reality and robotics solutions in the supply chain, I am particularly proud that we have also found new ways to deliver to hard-to-reach delivery areas.

Our autonomous DHL parcel drone, for instance, enables us to make rapid deliveries of medicines to a remote island in Lake Victoria, and in China a customer is regularly supplied with important documents twice a day. In addition, the StreetScooter, which we have developed and manufactured ourselves, has already enabled us to provide an initial answer to the challenges facing the logistics of the future and environmental protection.

On that topic, one of the most important issues of our time is sustainability, and the expectations in regard to logistics in the next 50 years are likely to increase further. What will DHL’s contribution in this area be in the long term?
In 2008, the Group pledged to improve carbon efficiency by 30 % by the year 2020 compared to the 2007 baseline. We achieved that goal as early as 2016 and established ourselves in the market as experts in green logistics solutions.

As a company with global operations, we have a special responsibility and are doing everything we can to ensure that our ecological footprint is as small as possible. For that reason, we want to reduce transport-related emissions to zero by 2050.

Our journey along that path has already begun, and I am confident that we will achieve this important milestone for our Group – not only via the very ambitious interim targets that we have set ourselves for the year 2025, but also through the many campaigns and events launched as part of our anniversary year as a feature of our “Mission 2050: Zero Emissions” sustainability strategy.

So how is DHL celebrating its 50th anniversary?
Throughout the year, various anniversary events are being held for our employees, customers and partners. For example, we donated and delivered two Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centers equipped with modern computers to SOS Children’s Villages Colombia to provide the children with access to up-to-date technology and a better education.

We are also celebrating Beethoven’s legacy and DHL’s anniversary by using our logistics expertise to transport the “BTHVN on tour” anniversary exhibition as it makes its way through Germany, the US and, from 2020, other countries in Europe and Asia. Each of our 100,000 Express employees around the world has received a special edition coffee table book, a large-format illustrated volume outlining the history of DHL’s origins.

As a founding member and global logistics partner of Formula E, we also organized an online fan competition entitled “50 Moments that Delivered” on the occasion of the 50th Formula E race. The winner, a fan from Australia, got to travel to the season finale in the US as a fan reporter, sharing his impressions live from the track via DHL’s social media channels.

Læs også: DHL udvider sin amerikanske bilpark med nye CO2-venlige køretøjer

But the absolute highlight for us is the tree planting campaign as part of Bryan Adams’ “Shine A Light” tour, throughout which we are assisting him as official logistics partner. Together we would like to set a clear example for climate protection and, in collaboration with Bryan Adams, the Arbor Day Foundation, Plant-for-the-Planet, WeForest and Taking Root, we have pledged to plant one tree for every concert ticket sold – totaling one million trees worldwide this year. So far, new areas of forest comprising around 300,000 trees have already been planted in Indonesia, Nicaragua, Malawi and the US.

- JMA