DHL Express's operations in Malta and Turkey have both obtained their ISO 14001:2004 Environmental certification. As a result, DHL Express now has all its operations in Europe certified with this ISO certification.

The Malta operation was audited by DNV in the first week in October, with both the offices and the warehouse being audited. According to DHL Express Country Manager for Malta, Charles Schiavone, the Malta operation has been gearing up for this audit for some weeks now.

"We have been taking various environmentally-related initiatives for quite some time now but the ISO 14001:2004 audit has enabled us to concentrate on this single issue and, with the co-operation of all the staff, I am confident that this standard can be maintained and even improved in the years to come," he said.

The ISO 14001 standard, developed by the Geneva-based International Standardisation Organisation (ISO), relates to the environment management practices of a company and the areas that need to be considered to reduce the impact of its business on the environment. 

DHL has a paper recycling procedure in place, with dedicated bins in each office. They also recycle wooden pallets, cartons, cardboard and plastic. General waste is also being separated.

Deutsche Post DHL has a Go Green initiative and is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. The organisation is working on building staff awareness on the various initiatives in this area at the global, European and local levels.