For more than 50 years, “World Earth Day” has been held each year on April 22nd, a day which was developed to raise awareness about the importance of looking after the planet. This anniversary has become more relevant, if that’s possible, in recent years. This is especially so, bearing in mind that we are currently facing a climate emergency, where governments, companies and individuals, must contribute with our own actions to reduce environmental impact and minimise the effect of climate change.
Here at Paack, respecting the environment has always featured prominently in our strategy, given that we seek to become Europe’s leading company in sustainable deliveries. To do so, we work in all of the countries we are present in to ensure that the activity we carry out has the minimum possible impact. We have already achieved a zero impact in our carbon footprint in the United Kingdom, where we have obtained the Carbon Trust certification. Moreover, in 2020 we adhered to the UNFCCC’s (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), becoming the first and, so far, the only logistics company to have signed the agreement.
A step forwards, we have joined The Climate Pledge
Another example of Paack’s commitment to the environment is the fact we recently became a signatory to The Climate Pledge, an initiative launched by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019. The aim of the project developers is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and turn the climate crisis into climate action. This movement is a call to action for companies and organisations to take collective measures to build a safer and healthier planet together for future generations.
The Climate Pledge seeks to bring forward the agreements reached by EU countries by 10 years, initialled at the Paris summit, which commit its Member States to implementing actions geared towards Europe becoming the first climate-neutral economy and society in the world by 2050.
What does being part of TCP involve?
Currently, more than 300 organisations have already signed the TCP. Here at Paack, we have joined the project as part of a cross-sector community of companies, organisations and partners, working together to address the climate crisis and solve the challenges of decarbonising our economy. To do so, members of this platform are obliged to undertake actions such as:
Regular reporting
Regularly measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions arising from our activity.
Work towards carbon elimination
Implementing decarbonisation strategies in line with the provisions of the Paris Agreement, through changes and innovations that enable improvements in efficiency, the application of renewable energies and sustainable materials, and other actions focussed on eliminating carbon emissions.
Credible offsetting
Neutralising the emissions generated by a company’s activity with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets with the focus on achieving net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
What actions and plans do we carry out here at Paack?
- Measuring the carbon footprint of our activity. We are working with Deloitte to calculate the direct and indirect environmental impact we generate, related to the energy consumption of distribution centres, our employees’ transport or the emissions produced by our own fleets.
- Reducing the impact through different decarbonisation actions such as the creation of 100% Zero Emissions Areas, by using electric vehicles for delivery or implementing Urban ECO-Hubs, equipped with their own electric charging infrastructure. Additionally, we are also committed to consuming energy with renewable energy guarantees of origin, responsible waste management, route optimisation, and a commitment to the complete digitisation of our service.
- Offsetting our impact by working with organisations such as One Tree Planted, with whom, through reforestation projects, we offset the carbon footprint we generate. We also support the circular economy, with practices like those we have developed with Nespresso, a company that we are currently helping to recycle their capsules in the United Kingdom.
With the various actions that we have been implementing, in 2019, we were able to neutralise our carbon footprint in the United Kingdom, and we continue to work towards achieving our objectives in the other countries we operate in. Our commitment to sustainability aims to ensure Paack becomes a role model for other operators in the market and that our actions can provide a benchmark to promote a general change in logistics companies, retailers and consumers.
