DPD Switzerland Delivers the Last Mile Green in Basel

On Tuesday, DPD Switzerland opened the first Green CityHub at the Smart City Lab Basel on the Wolf site. This provides the Basel region with a parcel service provider that relies 100 percent on electric vehicles for the last mile and reduces emissions. At the Basel Wolf location, DPD Switzerland benefits from synergies with partners in the Smart City Lab Basel.

(Buchs/Basel) The continuously increasing parcel volume, especially in urban areas, poses an ever-growing problem for the environment and city residents. The burden of traffic and emissions in city centers on one hand, and the challenge of managing the increasing volume on the other, presents a significant challenge for logistics companies. The Green CityHub Basel not only makes last-mile delivery more flexible but also creates added value for people and the environment.

Thanks to the new Green CityHub in the Smart City Lab Basel, DPD Switzerland now delivers another city on the last mile completely green, alongside the cities of Schaffhausen and Geneva. Thus, DPD Switzerland is one step closer to its goal of offering comprehensive green transport in 10 Swiss cities by 2025.

Green CityHub Basel Officially Operational

At the opening ceremony on May 3, 2022, the Green CityHub was officially put into operation. Partners of the Smart City Lab Basel and other partners were invited. After a brief opening speech, the opening ribbon was symbolically cut. A representative from the DPD partner company Manor AG stated, “A CO2-neutral delivery of packages should be promoted in every city… Keep it up!” A staff member from the Basel city administration added, “The location at Wolf is ideal for green delivery in the city of Basel. The site is centrally important for the future.”

The Smart City Lab Basel promotes innovations in the areas of buildings, mobility, city logistics, and beyond for a livable, sustainable, and competitive Switzerland of tomorrow. It provides space and formats to network stakeholders, develop solutions, test ideas, and experience smart solutions.

Collaboration with Various Partners

DPD Switzerland collaborates on-site with various partners from the Smart City Lab Basel. In addition to its own e-vans for delivery directly to the doorstep, packages are also delivered to parcel lockers in downtown Basel, operated by the parcel locker provider “SchlaueBox.” This allows recipients to pick up their packages at their convenience. Thanks to the collaboration with the company UpVolt, the e-vans are charged with environmentally friendly electricity.

The electrified delivery reduces CO2 emissions by 70 percent. The Green CityHub saves approximately 11,000 km of travel routes monthly. Packages are pre-sorted at night in the depot in Möhlin and transported by truck to the Green CityHub Wolf. There, the e-vans are loaded, and the shipments are delivered.

Facts & Figures Green CityHub Basel Wolf:

• Expected number of packages per month for delivery: 26,000
• Size of the Green CityHub: 300 m2 indoor area plus 290 m2 outdoor area
• 10 e-vans
• 8 routes and 2 spring routes

For DPD Switzerland, responsibility towards the environment is a duty. The parcel service provider has been delivering every package CO2 neutral since 2012 – at no additional cost to customers. This is achieved by measuring its CO2 emissions, continuously reducing them, and compensating for all remaining CO2 emissions.

Photo: © DPD