Navigation and Content

Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals

As a longstanding partner of the United Nations, DHL Group strongly supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the six areas where we can make the greatest impact.

Seventeen multi-colored tiles with sustainable development goals and one tile with a color wheel.

 
The 17 UN SDGs are the foundation of a global plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. They are an urgent call to action for us all to join forces in a global partnership - and they embody a universal recognition that we must all take action today to make a lasting positive impact on tomorrow. To demonstrate our commitment, we signed the UN Global Compact in 2006.

At DHL Group, our company purpose is Connecting People and Improving Lives. That means the spirit of the UN's SDGs is also at the heart of everything we do. By pursuing our purpose every day, we responsibly facilitate global trade and empower people to improve their lives, fostering prosperity, well-being, and better futures for all.

As one of the world's largest employers, with a diverse, global team of around 600,000 people working across 220 countries and territories, we are uniquely positioned to significantly contribute to sustainable development. To harness our strengths to make the greatest possible impact, we focus primarily on six of the SDGs:

Multi-colored tiles with a selection of the sustainable development goals

To support many aspects of these six SDGs, we have made key commitments to run clean operations to protect the climate, be a great company to work for all, and be a highly trusted company for our partners. Our programs and initiatives to achieve these goals improve access to quality education, empower women, promote equal opportunities, create jobs, enable economic growth, mitigate climate change, and foster collaboration and partnership.

Our programs and initiatives in support of the SDGs

  • DHL Group aims to provide quality education and lifelong learning opportunities to all.

    As one of the world's largest employers in a business powered by people, it's safe to say that our global team drives our success. Every day, our employees work to fulfill our company purpose - Connecting People and Improving Lives. Our long-term business success depends on forward-looking, sustainable human resources planning and talent development. That's why we offer training programs and lifelong career development opportunities, including vocational training, programs for students and graduates, and our scholarship program, Upstairs. As an inclusive and equal opportunity employer, we promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging - actively integrating people with disabilities and embracing everyone regardless of ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, identity, or belief system.

    Learn more about some of these programs here:

    Furthermore, we are committed to helping young people, improving their educational opportunities and employability. In partnership with Teach For All, our employee-driven GoTeach program aims to unleash the potential of young people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Teach for All, an educational network of over 60 independent partner organizations worldwide, is committed to addressing the global problem of educational inequity, believing every child should have access to quality education.

    Learn more about GoTeach

  • DHL Group supports gender equality and is taking action to empower women and girls

    Gender inequality remains one of the greatest obstacles to equitable social and economic progress.  As a global company and one of the world's largest employers, we actively promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging - and we believe it is our responsibility to support gender equality and empower women and girls. We strive to create an inclusive and equitable workplace with equal opportunities and professional development support designed specifically for women.

    These efforts are embedded in our Strategy 2025 and our Sustainability Roadmap. We set a target to increase the share of women in upper and middle management to at least 30% by 2025. And we have made steady progress: In 2020, the percentage of women in leadership positions was 23.2%. By 2022, we reached 26.3%.

    We have many processes and programs to drive our progress, including recruitment and retention, talent management and development, networking, mentoring, and other initiatives. In our Code of Conduct, we explicitly reject any form of discrimination based on gender, ethnic and national origin, race, color, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and identity, or any other characteristic protected by law. This position is reinforced in our Corporate Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

    Gender equality is also an inherent part of our Group-wide Go programs to foster the employability and economic inclusion of women and girls. Our GoTeach program, which aims to improve the employability of young people, ensures that boys and girls are equally represented in the activities. The program also offers gender-responsive activities to improve the employment prospects of young women in some countries.

    Our GoTrade program, which facilitates cross-border trade in developing countries, actively engages female entrepreneurs. From the beginning, the project has targeted a 50:50 gender balance, launching dedicated projects to boost competitiveness and trade for female business owners. The program also collaborates with external partners to create economic ecosystems where female entrepreneurs and producers can improve competitiveness and access international markets.

  • DHL Group strives to be a role model for responsible business and facilitate economic growth through trade

    Logistics is the backbone of economic development and prosperity. As a global logistics provider, we offer productive employment to about 600,000 people worldwide - decent work that also helps create jobs for our partners and suppliers and facilitates international trade to support economic growth.

    We aspire to be a role model, with responsible business at the heart of everything we do and values solidified in our Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct. Follow these links to learn more:

    As one of the world's largest employers, our people are our biggest asset. To us, decent work includes protecting human rights, providing fair working conditions, promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and fostering dialogue. Follow these links to learn more:

    We also rely on our people because we are a service provider. We aim to provide long-term career opportunities and improve the employability of young people both inside and outside our company. Internally these opportunities range from vocational training programs to student and graduate programs to lifelong career development. Externally, through our GoTeach program, we partner with Teach for All and SOS Children's Villages to improve the employability of young people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Follow these links to learn more:

  • DHL Group minimizes transportation-induced air pollution in cities and supports communities after a disaster.

    As the world's leading logistics company, we are committed to making our business sustainable. Our goal is to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2050. That includes providing the world's growing urban population with emission-reduced logistics. For example, we are making our first and last-mile delivery more sustainable by introducing electric vehicles and sustainable fuels and reducing fuel consumption through network optimization. By 2030, we will electrify more than 66% of our pickup and delivery vehicles. Learn more:

    To help make communities safe, resilient, and sustainable, we leverage our global network and logistics expertise to provide disaster response and preparedness at airports worldwide. In cooperation with the UN, our GoHelp program includes Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD) and our Disaster Response Teams (DRTs). Since 2005, we have supported global relief efforts by volunteering our logistics expertise, global network, and the personal commitment of our employees. Around the world, we have also promoted a more inclusive society by lending our support to refugee integration programs. Follow these links to learn more:

  • DHL Group seeks to reduce our environmental impact and promote low carbon logistics and decarbonization.

    We have made it our mission to reduce all logistics-related emissions to net zero by 2050 and significantly contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement. In support of the UN Agenda 2030, we have set 2030 targets certified by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)* to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 40 million metric tons CO2e to under 29 million metric tons by 2030. We plan to achieve our target through the following aspirations:

    • Electrifying more than 66% of our first and last-mile delivery vehicles
    • Increasing the use of sustainable fuels in air, ocean, and road transport to over 30%
    • Designing 100% of all new buildings to be carbon neutral

    *Our science-based target represents a 42% reduction in absolute direct emissions from the use of fuels and indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 1 and 2) and a 25% reduction in absolute emissions from fuel and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, and business travel (Scope 3).

  • DHL Group collaborates with the UN and other partners to magnify the impact of our sustainability efforts.

    We are a global company with around 600,000 employees and operations in 220 countries and territories, making us uniquely positioned to significantly contribute to sustainable development. Still, we won't have the greatest impact if we go it alone. All 17 UN SDGs represent an urgent call to action for us all to join forces in a global partnership - and they embody a universal recognition that we must all take action today to make a lasting positive impact on tomorrow.

    At DHL Group, we see strategic partnerships as key to the success of any endeavor. As a longstanding partner of the UN, we recognize the power of public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives - different actors working together and pooling resources. By mobilizing and sharing knowledge, expertise, and capabilities, we bolster our ability to achieve the SDGs.

    In partnership with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), we established a global network of Disaster Response Teams (DRT) that deploy to airports to provide relief aid logistics in the wake of a disaster. Together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), we conduct multi-day workshops to help airport personnel and local disaster management organizations to better prepare for future humanitarian crises - a program called Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD). In education, we have strategic, global partnerships with Teach for All and SOS Children's Villages to improve the employability of young people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

    Beyond these partnerships, we actively engage in an open dialog with internal and external stakeholders on issues surrounding responsible and sustainable business. These exchanges significantly impact the success of our corporate responsibility efforts.

    We build on our social commitments by providing a platform for our employees to volunteer in their communities. This Global Volunteer Day program provides the framework to facilitate volunteerism locally and in close collaboration with independent local organizations and charities. With opportunities to help solve problems in their local communities, our people contribute to society while fostering team spirit and a sense of belonging in the workplace.

Related links