DPD Measures Air Quality in Hamburg and Makes Data Public

DPD Germany launches the Breathe project in Hamburg to measure air quality in the Hanseatic city. Laser-based sensors at 19 branches of the drugstore chain Budnikowsky, which is a strategic partner, on 100 delivery vehicles, and at DPD’s Hamburg depot provide real-time data. The DPDgroup aims to measure air quality in 20 European cities by the end of 2021.

(Aschaffenburg) With the measurement of air quality, the international parcel and express service provider DPD aims to contribute to the air quality debate and document future improvements. The great advantage: the data is public and accessible to everyone.

“Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental and health risks of our time. We see it as our responsibility to actively contribute to solving this problem. We want to practically show where air pollution is particularly high – and thus where action is needed to intervene in traffic management,” says Björn Scheel, Chief Operating Officer of DPD Germany.

BUDNI Branches as Areas for the Sensors

“The parcel service in our branches and the collaboration with DPD has given us the unique opportunity to focus on air quality in the Hamburg metropolitan region. To reduce CO₂ emissions and make future reductions measurable, we need to know the status quo. We are providing this opportunity to all BUDNI customers in the vicinity of the first 19 test branches by making our locations available as areas for the sensors,” explains Christoph Wöhlke, Managing Director of Budnikowsky GmbH & Co. KG.

Citizens can use the service as they can access the air quality in front of their doorstep or any other location within the city via the DPD website. For example, specific locations can be avoided on days with high particulate matter pollution.

Precise and Real Measurement Insight into Air Quality

The introduction in Germany is part of a Europe-wide program by the DPDgroup. As a pilot project, the initiative has already started in Paris, Lisbon, and London. The comprehensive data obtained in Lisbon, for example, enabled authorities to introduce a low-emission zone in the heart of the city. In the long term, around 2,400 sensors are to be deployed across Europe.

The sensors collect current measurement data every twelve seconds, which is used to visualize urban air quality on a high-resolution map. The data provides a precise and real insight into Hamburg’s air quality. This is an important indicator to avoid health risks from high particulate matter pollution. Even the finest particles sized “PM2.5” can be detected by the sensitive sensors. This means that the particles have an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. They can penetrate deeper into the respiratory tract, remain there longer, and cause lasting damage to the lungs. Thus, the sensors provide important data that can serve as a basis for sustainably improving air quality in Germany’s second-largest city.

Delivered Emission-Free, Package by Package

Today, DPD already delivers every package in Hamburg’s city center between Alster and Elbe using locally emission-free vehicles. Additionally, there is a micro-depot in HafenCity, where packages for the city center are transshipped and delivered with TRIPL scooters. Despite national and international environmental protection measures, health damages from air pollution in cities worldwide are increasing. 40 percent of all CO₂ emissions arise from urban mobility. The CO₂ emissions and nitrogen oxides – which are part of the PM2.5 particulate matter pollution – have the same origin: both develop from the combustion of fossil energy sources, as is the case with diesel and gasoline engines. As a parcel service provider, DPD sees itself as responsible for acting sustainably, measuring the impact on the environment, and continuously reducing it. The Breathe initiative in collaboration with Budnikowsky and Pollutrack, developers of the sensors and the first mobile tracking system for particulate matter, marks another important step for DPD to fulfill its corporate and social responsibility under the motto DrivingChange^TM. Next, DPD plans to implement emission-free delivery in 23 German cities and 225 cities across Europe by 2025. This aims to achieve 89% less CO₂ and 80% less pollutants than in 2020.

Photo: © DPD / Caption: Small white boxes at the rear of the delivery vehicles measure air pollution and transmit the collected data in real-time.