DHL Express, the world's leading international express service provider, and UOB, a leading bank in ASEAN, entered a strategic agreement under DHL's GoGreen Plus service to co-invest in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for UOB's international parcel deliveries. Through this program, UOB foresees an estimated annual emissions reduction of approximately 200 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂e[1]) .

Launched in February 2023, DHL's GoGreen Plus service has helped over 40,000 customers in Asia Pacific cut their carbon emissions using SAF, which can reduce lifecycle emissions of typical aviation fuel by around 80 per cent compared with traditional jet fuel. This demonstrates a strong demand for sustainable solutions across DHL's customers in various industries. UOB and DHL have been collaborating closely since 2022 to reduce UOB's carbon footprint of international parcel deliveries and has onboarded the GoGreen Plus service from March this year to utilize SAF.

"DHL has a clear sustainability roadmap, and we understand our role and responsibility to make air transportation more sustainable. We are proud that UOB has selected us to be their partner to help reduce their environmental impact on their international shipping activities," said Ken Lee, CEO DHL Express Asia Pacific. "We are seeing a strong uptake of GoGreen Plus service in the region, citing shippers' readiness and appetite for sustainable logistics solutions. SAF is currently the best option for reducing carbon emissions in aviation, and we are glad to be taking the lead."

Environmental sustainability takes center stage for the banking and finance industry

According to Dentsu's 2023 report for the banking and finance industry, 63 per cent of Asia Pacific consumers recognized and felt the impact that climate change can bring about in the next five years. As a result, consumers expect brands and their governments to take firm action to address sustainability. In fact, Asian banks are taking action and committing to net-zero emissions as well. As seen in an assessment by World Wide Fund for Nature, net-zero commitments among assessed banks rose from 15 to 39 per cent between 2021 and 2022.

In 2022, UOB announced its goal of achieving net-zero by 2050 for its financed emissions, concurrently supporting sustainable practices among its clients and the real economy, and driving socio-economic growth in Southeast Asia. DHL's GoGreen Plus service allows UOB to reduce their Scope 3 non-financed emissions effectively with SAF. In addition, UOB will receive monthly updates detailing the carbon reductions of their parcel shipments through a complimentary Carbon Footprint report and quarterly certification of the emissions reduction achieved by an independent auditor.

"As our operations continue to expand regionally, we are committed to align our procurement activities with our sustainability strategy and objectives. UOB is the first local bank in Singapore to proactively address the emissions arising from our consignments and international shipping activities through carbon insetting, as part of reducing the footprint of our supply chain. The collaboration with our logistics partner, DHL, supports the scaling of SAF usage as a better alternative to decarbonize supply chains. This is a meaningful step for us to achieve sustainable procurement, integral to UOB's ethos of responsible business practices," said Marcus Lai, Head of Corporate Real Estate Services, Group Finance & Corporate Services, UOB.

The GoGreen Plus service is one of DHL's global initiatives to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It is made possible due to strategic collaborations with bp and Neste to acquire up to 800 million liters of SAF and with World Energy to provide up to 668 million liters of SAF. As a leading logistics company, DHL stays committed to decarbonizing its business operations and continuously developing innovative green solutions for the logistics industry.

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