Hermes Europe

I was thrilled to win the GreenFleet AFV Champion award in December. It was also exciting to be at a live event again. After nearly two years of postponements and general uncertainty, it was great to be in the same room celebrating alongside friends and colleagues.

It’s been a challenging time for our industry and this award is wonderful recognition for the amazing work my team at Hermes are doing. As people turned to home delivery during the pandemic, parcel volumes soared to unprecedented levels as we quickly pivoted to the changing needs of customers and retailers.

Hermes has gone through – and is continuing to experience – dramatic growth across the entire operation. Now more than ever, we believe in doing the right thing. Sustainability is a huge priority for us as we recognise our responsibility as the UK’s largest dedicated consumer delivery company.

It’s at the heart of our business. We were an early adopter of CNG (compressed natural gas) as an alternative fuel and are increasing its presence in our fleet. In 2021 we ordered 70 new units, bringing our total number of CNG vehicles to 160. We’re the largest operator of CNG in the parcel sector with around 50 per cent of the core hub tractor fleet being fuelled this way.

Each new IVECO S-WAY unit reduces CO2 emissions by more than 80% when compared to a Euro 6 diesel vehicle – a reduction of 150 tonnes of CO2 per vehicle and 24,000+ tonnes of CO2 across the entire CNG fleet annually.

Meanwhile, electric vans give us an alternative fuels option for all journeys and we have 168 new zero-emission Mercedes-Benz eSprinters to service our out-of-home network of ParcelShops. This is the most carbon-efficient way to send, receive or return parcels, and we’ll undertake all ParcelShop collections with electric vehicles at the earliest opportunity.

The transition to zero-emission electric vehicles and our ongoing exploration of alternative fuels across the fleet are integral to our ESG (environment, social and governance) vision. We’re moving firmly along the road to net zero, which we aim to reach by 2035, as we continue to support retailers and customers on their own sustainability journeys.

It’ll be a long, challenging process. But as we build on our successes of the last 12-18 months, we’re starting 2022 in a strong place to adapt to new technologies and changes in the sector, both short and long term.