DHL Express announced that it recently launched a "GoGreen Plus" offering — becoming the first global express courier to give its customers the opportunity to use Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to reduce emissions.

GoGreen Plus is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group's sustainability goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

In a statement, DHL Express said GoGreen Plus is a new service that will allow customers to reduce (inset) the carbon emissions associated with their shipments through the use of SAF.

"This is a first for global express carriers and will initially launch in the UK, shortly followed by Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates," the logistics giant said, adding that starting this month, customers based in these countries will have the option to select GoGreen Plus when choosing their shipping service through MyDHL+, the company's online shipping and tracking platform.

GoGreen Plus global launch "over the coming months"

DHL said the service would become available to all DHL Express customers globally over the coming months, with customers being given the chance to tailor the CO2e reduction they want to achieve and the amount of SAF they use.

It added that the new GoGreen Plus service was made possible following DHL's recent collaborations with bp and Neste to supply SAF to DHL Express hubs around the world.

"We know our customers are committed to reducing their environmental impact, so it's important we're giving them the means to do so. I'm delighted that our investment in SAF can now be fully leveraged by customers to enable them to bring down the emissions of their shipments," said John Pearson, CEO DHL Express.

"SAF is currently the primary route to reducing carbon emissions in aviation, so this is the most effective way to help our customers make their own supply chains more sustainable," he added.

DHL noted that insetting through GoGreen Plus allows customers to bring down their Scope 3 emissions, the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including downstream transportation and distribution.

Unlike offsetting initiatives, GoGreen Plus (insetting) reduces emissions within the logistics sector and therewith can be used for DHL customers' own voluntary emission reporting and follows the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) philosophy, DHL added.