The Irish branch of the courier service DPD has reached the milestone of 1 million-zero emission deliveries, with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar accepting the millionth package.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment congratulated the company on the landmark.
DPD Ireland has said they are currently delivering more than 4,000 parcels every day by electric vehicles. The parcel-service has also begun tests using hydrotreated vegetable oil in vehicles rather than using diesel.
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Speaking about the landmark-delivery, Leo Varadkar said: “Congratulations to the team on reaching 1 million deliveries by electric vehicle.
“It’s is a really significant milestone and it was great to be the lucky recipient of the 1 millionth parcel.
“We must do what we can to leave our planet in a better condition than we inherited it. Enterprise has a really important role to play and it’s great to see DPD Ireland take the lead, investing over €5m to make the business more sustainable.”
DPD is aiming to electrify 25% of its total fleet by 2025, which breaks down to having 400 electric vehicles on the road in 3 years. It currently has 51 electric vehicles, with a further 110 ordered.
Sustainability manager for the company’s Irish branch, James Atkinson added: “As well as lowering emissions on journeys, we are heavily focussed on reducing journeys in the first place.
“Our flagship route optimisation project will enable depots to deliver more parcels with the same number of vans, meaning no additional emissions, while growing the business.”
Atkinson also said that the challenge with electric vans was the “range.” A statement from the company said: “The company expects the Ford E Transit to do 250km on a single charge, adding that 20-25% of DPD Ireland delivery routes are over 200km.”
Atkinson said: “These hard-to-electrify routes will be supplied with a biofuel, HVO, which offers up to 90% emissions reduction versus diesel. We have already purchased our first tank of HVO and are currently trialling it on line haul trucks between Dublin and our central sortation facility in Athlone."
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