DHL, the contract logistics provider, has received Unilever's 2014 'Partner to Win' award for Sustainability. The two companies collaborated on the Project Neo initiative to support the continual environmental improvement of activities and services conducted by DHL Supply Chain on behalf of Unilever.
Drawing on DHL Supply Chain's sustainability expertise, Project Neo identified 12 best practice initiatives for implementation and a 'Sustainability Landscape Matrix' that mapped the status of 42 programmes globally. The key focus areas were raising awareness and knowledge, and providing guidance in developing and continually improving environmental and carbon efficiency in the various geographies.
Project Neo helps to collaboratively drive several best practice environmental initiatives and reduce CO2 emissions in support of the sustainability aspects of both Unilever's and DHL Supply Chain's environmental commitments. DHL Supply Chain's GoGreen environmental improvement program is on track to achieve an ambitious 30% carbon efficiency improvement by 2020 against a 2007 baseline.
The Neo Project has also benefitted Unilever through the operational efficiency of transport and warehouse activities, particularly with respect to fuel and energy savings, and associated costs that supported profitable growth. Unilever also profited socially through behavioral change amongst employees that fostered the improvement of capabilities, knowledge and skills.
The Neo Project was formally launched in September 2013 with communications on the framework and aims of the project. This involved key operational, account, procurement and sustainability personnel from both organizations.
Dhaval Buch, Chief Procurement Officer, Unilever said: "I congratulate DHL for winning the Sustainability award. It is our mission to maintain these fantastic relationships with our suppliers and create mutually beneficial business opportunities. Partner to Win plays a vital role in helping us achieve the Compass vision – our strategy for sustainable growth, which can only be delivered through partnerships."
Graham Inglis, Chief Development Officer, DHL Supply Chain added: "We're delighted to receive this award which recognizes the tremendous progress our two organizations have achieved together in recent years in the areas of waste elimination and carbon reduction. I'm confident that we are now ideally placed to achieve even greater savings in the future."
Each country was initially tasked to jointly drive implementation of three out of twelve priority initiatives. Employee engagement lay at the heart of the project and ensured that cross-functional representation and global collaborations were achieved.
The 'Sustainability Landscape Matrix' which tracked the global program shows initiatives for transport and warehousing activities, ranging from vehicle aerodynamics to sites with ISO14001 certification. Country teams were requested to complete the matrix based on existing implementation of environmental best practices including those being investigated for feasibility or a pilot testing.
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