Eco-friendly transport

GLS is committed to reducing the company’s environmental emissions. Improved route planning and maximised capacity utilisation are important factors for achieving this goal. Another lever is the use of alternative means of transport – particularly on the last mile. GLS therefore increases the amount of vehicles that satisfy the highest EURO emission standards and builds a vehicle fleet with electric and natural gas based engines.

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Sustainability on the last mile

According to the European Environment Agency , emissions of local pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, cause adverse health effects to people living in urban areas. In order to lower negative impacts on health and environment from parcel delivery on the last mile, GLS employs alternative vehicles in several countries. The alternative vehicle fleet consists of battery electric vehicles, cargo bikes, electric scooters, and vehicles powered by compressed natural gas as well as liquefied petroleum gas. The growing number of eco-friendly vehicles at GLS reduces our emissions on the last mile.

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Cargo bikes and city depots

Parcel delivery with cargo bikes and other similar vehicles are an important measure to reduce our ecological footprint on the last mile. Cargo bikes are well suited for the deployment in urban areas: delivery drivers are very mobile, easily find parking space and rarely get stuck in traffic. The bikes with electric support are particularly useful in pedestrian zones, where delivery vans generally only get access early in the morning. Cargo bikes on the other hand can pick up and deliver parcels all day.

Since cargo bikes only cover short distances and have limited storage space, GLS is using city depots to provide the bikes with central locations to resupply parcels. This allows us to deliver up to 120 parcels per day and bike – replacing a whole tour with a diesel-powered vehicle. However, in times of limited space in urban areas, building entire depots close to city centres is in many cases socially, economically and ecologically unfeasible. For this reason, GLS focuses on so called micro depots, which are also located centrally, yet they are significantly smaller, sometimes consisting merely of a swap body or GLS parcel shop. The success of this approach has already been proven: For the micro depot concept in Nuremberg, GLS Germany received, together with DPD, the VCÖ mobility award 2017.

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Eco-friendly line haul

GLS Italy is taking another step towards environmentally friendly delivery on long-distance routes. It is one of the first express parcel services in the country to use long-distance trucks that run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). They not only generate fewer emissions and run quieter than diesel vehicles, but also do not produce any particulate matter. At the start of the trial phase, the first lorry completed a daily trip of 550 kilometres between a depot and a hub. More hubs have gradually been added to this. With a range of up to 750 kilometres, they are ideal for scheduled services.