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Amsterdam, 7 March 2022 – GLS Group’s efforts to connect people across the world whilst protecting the environment for future generations have been rewarded with the EcoVadis Gold Certificate. EcoVadis is an international sustainability ratings provider for more than 90,000 companies offering solutions for monitoring and optimising sustainability in global supply chains. EcoVadis holds companies to the highest possible standard, which means that GLS is one of the most sustainable parcel carriers in Europe. EcoVadis looks at a range of metrics under the categories: Environment, Sustainable Procurement, Ethics and Labour & Human Rights. GLS Group’s high rating from EcoVadis thus reflects the company’s efforts across the spectrum of corporate social responsibility.

Network strategy for environmental sustainability
GLS Group’s environmental impact score of 80/100 puts the company among the 7% top-rated companies in the sector. This stand-out environmental score is the result of the company’s long-term environmental sustainability strategy. For more than ten years, the GLS Group has been actively seeking and implementing ways to reduce its environmental impact, as have its local transport partners. The GLS Group launched a unifying strategy to maximise its impact and ensure that know-how and effort are being shared across its entire international network. The evolving success of the strategy is reflected in the fact that last year’s Silver rating from EcoVadis has been raised to Gold this year.

An encouraging sign
GLS Group’s environmental sustainability strategy is based on the reduction, avoidance and compensation of emissions, with priorities weighted to emission reduction and avoidance. “We are committed to creating a sustainable organisation that meets the needs of the world around us”, says CEO Martin Seidenberg. “I’m proud that we at the GLS Group are taking direct steps that create such a positive impact and help us move towards our shared goal of creating the sustainable world of the future. The EcoVadis Gold Certificate is a recognition that we are on the right track, as well as an encouragement to improve our sustainability efforts even more”.

About EcoVadis
EcoVadis provides the leading solution for monitoring sustainability in global supply chains. Using innovative technology and sustainability expertise, EcoVadis strives to engage companies and help them adopt sustainable practices.

Brand refresh embodies the company’s ambitions with an exciting and dynamic look

Amsterdam, 4 October 2021 – GLS, a leading parcel service provider, reveals its updated brand identity today. The brand refresh builds upon what has made GLS successful in the fast-changing world of parcel services and supports the company’s growth ambitions. At its core, GLS makes every parcel delivery personal with its seamless solutions. The refreshed brand identity reflects the company’s undertaking with a fresh, dynamic and digital-friendly look.

The brand refresh catches the eye with a striking blue and yellow. The yellow arrow that has long represented the company is incorporated into the letter G with a more compact design, punctuated by a dot symbolising GLS’s expertise, point-to-point mission and connection with its customers in the digital age. The polished look is strengthened by clear language with a fun, witty tone and style.

The brand refresh comes at a time of great change for the company. Customers are increasingly looking for easy, transparent and sustainable shipping solutions. In response to this growing need, GLS has been tailoring its network and services for more international, convenient, digital and sustainable solutions. The company aims to reinforce its cross-border leadership with a focus on growth in B2C services, whilst maintaining the company’s strong footprint in B2B. Because of its dedicated cross-border network with significant local market knowledge, GLS is confident in reaching its growth goal by 2025.

“At GLS, we have been delivering the most personal and seamless service for more than 30 years and have built a strong foundation with our people and customers. As customers’ needs and the parcel market are changing rapidly, it is time for us to change as well”, says Martin Seidenberg, CEO of GLS Group. “The updated brand identity reflects our work and ambition in a brighter and more leading-edge way. It’s dynamic, bold, modern, vivid and personal. It reflects perfectly who we are and who we will be.”

The updated brand will be rolled out gradually across all markets in Europe and North America, with an official start on 4 October.

GLS has been actively working on sustainability since 2008. We optimise logistics processes, (re)build our depots sustainably, invest in electric vehicles and continuously monitor our emissions. In November 2019 we started the Lean & Green programme by Connekt and in June 2021 GLS Netherlands received its first star. That means we managed to reduce our CO2 emissions by at least 20% well within the set 5 years!

Lean & Green
Lean & Green is an internationally recognised CO2 reduction programme which many renowned companies have joined. The programme helps logistics companies take the next step in improving the sustainability of their business and to establish the right structure for registering and calculating emissions. Companies are rewarded for their performance in this area by a 5-star system.

ThinkGreen
GLS had already taken the first steps in sustainability and emission reduction with ThinkGreen. In 2008, GLS launched this sustainability initiative to coordinate and actively promote the various activities within the GLS Group. From more efficient route planning and the use of LHVs to making buildings and workplaces more sustainable, we take the environment into account in all areas of the organisation. We compensate for any emissions we still emit. We do this by supporting various (international) projects via the Climate Neutral Group and the Trees For All foundation.

CO2 compensation projects:

• Jacundá forest conservation in Brazil;
• Investing in efficient cookstoves in Uganda;
• The cookstove uses half the amount of wood so less smoke is released;
• This is better for health and forest conservation. Together with the Trees For All Foundation, we have already planted over 7,500 new trees in the Netherlands;
• Making depots more sustainable with rainwater harvesting systems, solar panels, recyclable building materials, heat pumps, etc.

As of this year, GLS Netherlands has introduced climate-neutral delivery - for all parcels sent within the Netherlands and abroad. In addition to measures to reduce and avoid CO2 emissions, the company is also committed to full compensation through VCS and Gold Standard projects.

"Protecting the climate is the number one issue that the economy, logistics and society will not be able to avoid in the coming decades," says Milo Kars, Managing Director GLS Netherlands. "All the more reason for us to continue to speed up the ecological reorganisation of our company. In order to already offer a fully climate neutral service, we are compensating our remaining ecological footprint up to 100 percent."

This is done in cooperation with the Climate Neutral Group through projects that meet the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard, the strictest certification standard in the world. These carefully selected compensation projects ensure ecological and social sustainability. GLS Netherlands invests in the local production of efficient cookstoves in Uganda, the preservation and conservation of the biodiversity of the Jacundá forest in Brazil and a biogas project for the reduction of methane in the Netherlands. GLS also supports sustainable forest projects in the Netherlands through the organisation Trees for All.

Systematically reducing emissions
As part of the ThinkGreen sustainability initiative, launched in 2008 across the GLS Group, GLS Netherlands is avoiding and reducing its impact on the environment. This year, the main focus is on fully sustainable and emission free parcel delivery in the twenty largest Dutch city centres. The logistics service provider is investing in electric vehicles and a charging infrastructure in the depots. In the meantime, electric vehicles are already driving around in four city centres.

GLS' Last-Mile solutions such as the FlexDeliveryService and the ShopDeliveryService help to ensure that parcels are delivered immediately at the first delivery attempt and do not generate extra kilometres. GLS Netherlands also uses efficient LHVs for long distances and new planning and simulation tools to optimise route schedules. In addition, the depots are becoming more sustainable and efficient with, for example, solar panels and recyclable building materials.

The ISO 14001-certified environmental management system is one of the company's fundamental principles for making systematic and continuous progress. GLS Netherlands also participates in Connekt's Lean & Green programme to optimise its logistics processes while working in a more sustainable manner. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20 percent from 2020 to 2025.

Contribution of customers is essential
"It is because of the increasing demand for parcel services that our sector is playing an increasingly important role in controlling climate change," says Milo Kars. "However, a climate neutral parcel delivery also involves more investments and costs due to new technologies, processes and concepts. This is only possible in close cooperation with our customers; sustainability also requires partnership."

GLS Netherlands is the second country within the international GLS Group, after GLS Germany, to transport all its parcels in a fully climate neutral way in order to protect the climate.

Sustainability at GLS

To the press release

Double capacity, technologically up-to-date and more sustainable: GLS Netherlands has started a comprehensive modernisation and expansion of the depot in Wijchen near Nijmegen.

Depot Wijchen serves as an important link between the Randstad and the Ruhr area. The expansion will make it one of the largest GLS depots in the Netherlands. After completion, twice as many parcels can be handled here.

By the fourth quarter of 2020, two new distribution halls will increase the handling area with 3,200 to in total 6,000 square metres; the number of loading and unloading gates will rise to 100. A new sorting system will contribute to fast and efficient processes.

Climate neutral parcel transhipment

Solar collectors will be installed on the roof of the depot in order to operate the sorting system without emissions. A heat pump as the primary heat source and LED lighting will reduce the environmental impact. As more parcels are going to be processed via the depot in the future, the number of long-distance transports and thus emissions will decrease.

Sustainability at GLS

To the press release

The new GLS depot in Amsterdam went into operation begin February. The new building has more than double the capacity, compared to the previous building.

With the new depot, GLS Netherlands is well prepared for a further increase in volumes. The distribution hall of the depot comprises almost 6,200 square metres. This hall, a state-of-the-art sorter as well as 140 loading and unloading gates allow a consistently fast and efficient parcel handling.

Ecologically efficient

A geothermal heat pump as the primary source of heating and solar collectors cut CO2 emissions. To make optimal use of daylight, prismatic domes on the roof capture sunlight and spread it throughout the distribution hall. The installed LED lighting switches on automatically and moreover, charging stations for electric vehicles are available.

Pleasant working environment

The new building offers the personnel on site such modern canteen and more office space. The new depot also includes a modern GLS ParcelShop. Furthermore ergonomics are improved for the drivers as the van beds and the depot floor are on the same level.

Sustainability at GLS

To the press release