Sustainable shipping with DHL GoGreen: the complete guide

As the shipping business grows strongly, questions about the consequences for the climate are getting louder, which is why many customers want a service like DHL GoGreen. But what is DHL GoGreen? How does it work, and how long does shipping take when you use it? This guide answers those questions around sustainability in shipping, along with info on other carriers that give the environment a "green light", and why green shipping can move your business forward.

DHL GoGreen: why the service matters

Environmentally conscious shipping starts with you. As an online retailer, you can actively help shape the green path through various measures. Consumers have increasingly developed an awareness of environmental protection in e-commerce logistics: a large share are concerned about the effects of growing e-commerce on the environment, and they react sensitively when online stores use too much packaging or material that can't be recycled.

A significant share of consumers would even be willing to pay extra for carbon-neutral shipping when ordering. After all, many buyers today want to actively help avoid greenhouse gases and protect the climate so they can shop online with a clear conscience. When it comes to shipping, eco-friendly packaging, right-sized outer boxes, and reusable packaging rank highly. Another key fact: the volume of small, light e-commerce shipments keeps growing, so it's worth looking closely at the role of DHL GoGreen.

What is DHL GoGreen?

DHL GoGreen is DHL's carbon-neutral shipping, which delivers packets and parcels in an environmentally friendly way, complemented by CO₂ offsetting through climate-protection projects. DHL has committed to reducing its logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050. To get there, its environmental concept includes measures such as the steady expansion of electric mobility, from a growing fleet of electric vehicles to e-cargo bikes and e-trikes supporting sustainable last-mile delivery, with an increasing share of delivery districts served emission-free.

What does shipping with DHL GoGreen mean for businesses?

Businesses that use DHL save at least 30 percent of CO₂ emissions per parcel compared with many other carriers. When you use the green shipping service, it's directly visible to your customers through the GoGreen logo, which is printed on the label to mark carbon-neutral shipping. An annual certificate of the CO₂ emissions saved makes it transparent that every national or international DHL shipment supports climate-protection projects.

How does DHL GoGreen work?

You can use DHL GoGreen after connecting a corresponding DHL contract in Sendcloud. GoGreen can be booked for the DHL parcel and Warenpost domestically as well as for international parcels, and it gives your customers the good feeling of having contributed to environmental protection.

What does shipping with DHL GoGreen cost?

For a small surcharge, your shipments support environmental protection when you use GoGreen. Here's an overview of the surcharges for different shipments:

Whether you ship domestically or internationally, a DHL parcel protects the environment thanks to DHL GoGreen. When emission-free delivery isn't possible because of distance, the CO₂ emissions are offset through climate-protection programs.

How long does shipping with DHL GoGreen take?

Shipping with DHL GoGreen usually takes one to two business days, and express shipping is faster still. International shipments can take correspondingly longer.

Your advantages with DHL GoGreen at a glance

• Carbon-neutral shipping brings a sustainable boost to your image

• GoGreen offsets transport-related CO₂ emissions

• You can ship carbon-neutrally within the EU and internationally

• The GoGreen surcharge is small, but the effect on your customers is big

• GoGreen shipping still includes all the usual benefits, such as DHL tracking and delivery to a parcel locker

Why ship via Sendcloud instead of directly with DHL?

Of course, DHL services like GoGreen can be used directly through DHL. But it can be even more convenient to rely on Sendcloud, which offers many useful services such as after-sales marketing through tracking emails and your own tracking page, where customers can follow their parcel's status at any time. You can also drive additional sales by featuring your social feed and promotional banners.

But Sendcloud's biggest strength is multi-carrier shipping: draw on the most popular carriers and shipping methods and gain full flexibility. Alongside DHL GoGreen, you can of course use eco-friendly shipping methods from other carriers too:

Parcel lockers avoid repeat deliveries

An often underestimated source of CO₂ savings is offering individual receiving options, such as a preferred drop-off location, delivery day, or pickup and shipping at the nearest parcel locker, shop, or outlet. These receiving services are both customer- and eco-friendly, since every avoided repeat delivery from a failed attempt reduces CO₂ emissions. Parcel lockers have particular potential to cut last-mile emissions: a locker shipment saves on average 30 percent of last-mile CO₂ compared with doorstep delivery, because a single trip to a locker delivers and collects several parcels at once.

Avoid returns and save emissions with parcel-outlet routing

As a DHL business customer you can use parcel-outlet routing in Sendcloud. If your shipment couldn't be delivered because the recipient wasn't found at the address, parcel-outlet routing prevents the parcel from being returned to you straight away. Instead it goes to the nearest DHL outlet with a parcel counter, and your customer receives an email that it's waiting there for seven business days. Picking it up saves needless return costs and emissions.

Go for DHL GoGreen with Sendcloud

Want to find out more about how Sendcloud works with DHL, or start shipping with DHL? Visit our DHL carrier page.