DPD pledges green final mile delivery vehicles for major UK cities
The logistics giant has also unveiled new diesel-free ‘eco-sortation centre’ in London’s docklands, facilitating all-day electric home deliveries in the capital.
Costing the company £40million, the new regional hub in Bromley-By-Bow will allow for up to 80,000 parcels to be organised and distributed to home across London each day. Around the size of 8.5 football pitches, 650 new jobs are being created through the project, with Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper, in attendance at the official opening ceremony last week.
Set to begin operations in the new year, serving addresses within the north and south circular areas, efficiencies are also being made through a new 430metre long conveyor system, negating the need for next-day parcels to be trunked to a national facility in the Midlands before being sent back to London for distribution.
The site also boasts solar panels on parking canopies, helping charge the 500 electric delivery vans that will be used. Meanwhile, a 40,000 litre HVO tank will enable a fleet of LGVs and 7.5tonne trucks to refuel with biofuel. By next year, work could begin on installing more solar panels, this time on the facility’s main roof, which could generate up to 1million kwh of electricity per month. This infrastructure forms a key part of DPD’s wider pledge to operate low and zero emission final mile deliveries in 30 of the UK’s largest towns and cities.
‘I am absolutely delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Transport to our brand-new Docklands site,’ said Elaine Kerr, DPD UK CEO. ‘This investment represents another huge step towards our net zero goals and, I believe, demonstrates the new gold standard for a green parcel delivery operation in London, or any city. It is also great to be able to share our vision with so many of our retail partners, who have backed us on this journey to create genuinely cleaner and greener solutions for their customers.’
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Image: DPD / Mark Williamson