DPD has been named Sustainable Business of the Year at the Business Champion Awards.
The firm was praised for its ability to adapt during the pandemic whilst continuing its sustainability mission. DPD has been a sector leader on fleet electrification with over 1,500 electric vehicles on the road in the UK every day and incorporated a whole raft of changes into its operation to make it as sustainable as possible.
Initiatives range from the pledge to deliver clean and green to 30 of the largest towns and cities in the UK by 2023 to changing DPD parcel bags to 80% reclaimed material and 100% recyclable. DPD has also created an Eco Fund to support community-based sustainable projects funded solely by the firm’s initiatives, including recycling all plastic shrink wrap used throughout the operation to create new shrink wrap and the recycling of wooden pallets.
DPD received the award at a special ceremony at Canary Wharf, London, hosted by BBC TV news presenter Huw Edwards.
The awards evening was a carbon neutral event, while the awards process carbon footprint was kept to a minimum with the judges’ presentation days held online via Zoom. To honour Her Majesty’s Jubilee campaign to plant more trees in 2022, each winner will have ten trees planted in its geographical region within the UK.
This award is fantastic recognition for our people and our sustainability journey so far. We have challenged ourselves to be greener and more sustainable at every level and to create a truly joined-up strategy that goes way beyond simply buying electric vehicles. It includes an initiative to monitor air quality in five major cities and a four-year partnership with Forestry England. I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made and the transformative impact it is making, not only on our operation but on the environment.
– Elaine Kerr, CEO, DPD UK
