The road to a sustainable GLS - from climate offsetting to zero emission

Every day, GLS transports millions of parcels - and we love it. Even though we have a huge passion for package distribution, our passion for protecting our environment is at least as great. We consider climate-friendly delivery to be an important part of the good parcel experience, which is why we work together with our transport partners constantly to minimize the impact our parcel distribution has on the world around us.

In December 2023, GLS Group signed our commitment to comply with short- and long-term science-based targets (SBTs) in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). As a group, we have been strategically working towards zero emissions by 2045* in the past years, but by joining SBTi, we ensure that our CO2e reduction targets are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement targets of a maximum global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees. SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and WWF.

electric bikes ready for delivery at depot

Electric cars

We are constantly working to electrify our last-mile distribution vehicles and increase the share of zero- and low-emission vehicles across our business. In GLS Denmark, we have 72 electric vehicles delivering parcels across Denmark on a daily basis. To keep them running, we have 83 charging points at our depots, charging the electric cars.

By 2030, 50% of our distribution vehicles will be zero- or low-emission vehicles. By 2035, we aim for 100% of our newly purchased distribution vehicles to be zero- or low-emission vehicles.

Electric bikes

In Aalborg and Copenhagen, you can most likely spot our 6 electric bikes on the bike paths as they make daily express deliveries to our business customers.

The electric bikes are just one of several initiatives where we are testing alternative delivery solutions that make the parcel experience more environmentally friendly.

Testing electric trucks

By 2030, zero- and low-emission vehicles should make up 50% of our transportation fleet. As an important part of reaching this goal, we have tested an electric truck as part of our Linehaul. The truck transported parcels between our depots in Taastrup and Kolding - a total route of 428 km.

The test provided important insights into what the technology is currently capable of and how we can deliver environmentally friendly without compromising on delivery quality in the future.

Climate compensation

At GLS, we compensate for the emissions we cannot yet reduce. Read more about the projects we support on this page.

Further environmental initiatives

We believe that all initiatives towards more climate-friendly parcel delivery count. That's why we have compiled a number of the measures we have introduced.

Together for Climate Protect

We go to work to connect people and packages to support big dreams, high ambitions, strong relationships and new memories. But what good is it if we break down the world that provides the framework for doing just that?

In 2020, we launched our group-wide climate strategy Climate Protect, which aims to maximise our efforts for climate and environmental protection. The close co-operation across GLS countries ensures that we can share knowledge and local efforts with our international network.

Climate Protect is based on two core principles: CO2e reduction and offsetting the emissions. Our local and international targets pave the way for us to be a zero-emission organisation by 2045*.

*GLS‘ zero emissions by 2045 ambition is to reduce 90% of its Scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2e emissions by 2045, while offsetting the remaining 10% residual emissions through investment in certified climate protection projects. A pathway to deliver this reduction will be developed (including the setting of interim carbon reduction targets) and to base this pathway on climate science, in December 2023 GLS committed to set targets in line with the SBTi. GLS is expecting to complete the developing, submitting and approving process in line with the SBTi during the ongoing financial year.