In a to-date unique project, the Hermes Logistik Gruppe analysed the environmental compatibility of its logistics services across Germany. The ParcelShop study shows that through the continual expansion of the now 13,500 acceptance points in the Hermes ParcelShop network, car miles and the related emissions of damaging carbon-dioxide have been reduced. As this externally verified study showed, carbon-dioxide emissions per parcel dropped significantly between August 2006 and August 2007. In total, the company cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 5,700 tonnes.
"On average, the next ParcelShop in German conurbation areas was less than a kilometre away," says Stefan Hinz, environment coordinator at the Hermes Logistik Gruppe. "More and more customers are leaving their car at home and thereby making an active and key contribution to climate protection." The HLG ParcelShop network has become increasingly closer meshed in recent years thanks to the numerous retailing partners, for example operators of corner kiosks, dry-cleaners or Internet cafés. Two hundred new ParcelShops were opened in 2007 alone. The ecological effect of this trend is remarkable: despite increases in the volumes of parcels shipped from/to the ParcelShops, average CO2 emissions for each parcel processed there sank by 23 percent in a year-on-year comparison. The 5,700 tonnes of CO2 saved in this way is roughly the equivalent of the emissions resulting from energy consumed by 2,300 three-person households.
The next ParcelShop is never more than a few minutes’ walk away – especially in conurbations. In Berlin, for example, a ParcelShop is only 460 metres away on average. In 20 other large cities studied between Hamburg and Munich, the mean distance to the next ParcelShop is just 600 metres. For many customers, this is an important argument in deciding to leave the car in the garage and to walk to the ParcelShop.
In an online survey of around 11,700 ParcelShop users, results showed that only about every sixth customer user the car when the distance to the ParcelShop was less than 500 metres. If the ParcelShop is up to a kilometre away, 55 percent indicated that they use their car. "In big city traffic, a short walk to the ParcelShop is not only environmentally friendly, it is also the quicker alternative," says Hinz. On top of this, many Hermes customers are also benefiting from the longer opening hours of many partners.
The study carried out by Hermes in September 2007 and verified by the German association for the certification of management systems (DQS) is based on innovative research design. In a first step, the average distance to the next ParcelShop was calculated for all postcodes in Germany. Based on the number of parcels processed in the respective regions, in a second step the experts calculated the theoretical number of kilometres covered by Hermes customers in their cars – and the associated carbon-dioxide emissions. To determine the cuts in CO2 on a per parcel basis the subsequent results of the online survey on the mobility of Hermes customers was included.