DHL Group’s Erik-Jan Ossewaarde discusses the power of partnerships in the transition towards a green supply base, and how proactively fostering supplier relationships contributes to a more sustainable ecosystem…
Procurement has an important role to play in applying supplier sustainability initiatives in most organisations. We all know that. But, if you want to understand what that looks like in practice and how you transform the function to deliver on that promise, you could do a lot worse than spending time with Erik-Jan Ossewaarde and his strategy, sourcing, and procurement colleagues in his global cluster, as we were lucky enough to. Their job is to play a crucial role in delivering on the near-unmatched sustainability commitments set out by world-leading logistics company DHL Group to reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Erik-Jan Ossewaarde
And it’s no small task. Logistics is an essential driver of global trade, economic growth, and individual prosperity but it also leaves a significant environmental footprint on land, sea, and air. To mitigate that, and set an industry-leading example, DHL Group set out a sustainability roadmap that contains several key objectives and milestones to 2030. These include, but are not limited to, reducing annual GHG emissions to under 29 million metric tons from the baseline of 40m tons in 2021, electrifying 60% of its last-mile delivery vehicles, and increasing its share of sustainable fuels blending to over 30% and all new owned buildings to be designed carbon neutral.
Sustainable solutions
Ossewaarde and his procurement colleagues are at the heart of delivering on these environmental targets, in particular by scouting and applying supplier sustainable solutions, that enable critical value chains in new and innovative sectors, and building a stable, sustainable, and resilient supplier base that future proofs the business through long-term agreements and close collaboration. These will ensure sustainable sources of energy and fuels, green products, electric charging capabilities and infrastructure, renewable solutions and more are available to deliver change that extends beyond just corporate goals to meaningful and positive action for both industry and planet.
