15 June 2021 | News

DPD monitors air quality

Breathe, a sustainable initiative to measure air quality

DPD has sustainability high on its agenda. That these are not just words is shown by the unprecedented initiative Breathe, which is a unique monitoring programme for air quality. Breathe proved to be a great success in Lisbon, Madrid and Paris. Rotterdam and The Hague are the next cities where we are currently introducing the project.

What does Breathe mean?

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental risks. As DPDgroup, we can contribute to cleaner air like no other by putting our delivery network to work. We have placed laser sensors on our delivery vans and at the depots and Pickup Parcel Shops in the city. These continuously measure the amount of particulate matter in the air. And this gives a very accurate picture of the air quality in the city. Curious about the air quality in Rotterdam or The Hague?

The first results

Thanks to Breathe, DPD is a valuable discussion partner for local governments. Lisbon was one of the first cities where Breathe was tested. And the results were striking. For example, there appeared to be a high concentration of particulate matter in the air around a primary school. This was the reason to redesign the traffic around the school. Miguel Gaspar, deputy mayor of Lisbon, said about Breathe: "It is a useful initiative for our city. Thanks to Breathe, we get important data that we did not have before. And we can identify green areas and hotspots in the city."

Other sustainable initiatives

Breathe is not DPD's only sustainability initiative. Since 2012, DPD compensates the emissions it produces and delivers CO2-neutral. Without our customers paying extra for it! In addition, we use emission-free electric delivery vans, bicycle couriers and e-scooters to further reduce the burden on the environment.