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First green DHL Express facility in SSA unveiled
DHL Express recently unveiled its first green facility in sub-Saharan Africa, located in Bryanston, Johannesburg. The company also announced the roll-out of further green upgrades to additional sites across the region, including the rest of South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique.
The Bryanston facility has a 10,000l rainwater harvesting system and rooftop solar energy generation plant, lowering the building’s carbon footprint and reducing energy consumption by 55%. The reduced energy consumption is partly due to a 34kW solar photovoltaic system that reduces the demand for grid power by at least 25%.
Efficient lighting technology
The facility also uses LED light bulbs in place of conventional ones. This lighting technology, coupled with sensors designed to automatically turn off lights installed in highly used office areas, contributes to energy savings of up to 35%. A majority of the lighting used in the warehouse is being switched off by a timer when dusk sets in.
The facility’s energy consumption and solar energy production is monitored and reported in real time.
“The ‘greening’ of the building is in line with Deutsche Post DHL Group's (DPDHL) goal to reduce all logistics-related emissions to net zero by the year 2050,” explains Anthony Beckley, VP of operations, DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa. “Even though the Bryanston project is still in its infancy, early results based on performance indicate that despite the cost of electricity and water increasing, the estimated payback period for the building’s upgrades is currently around three years, down from an initial estimate of 4.5 years,” Beckley adds.
