- DPD invests in the promotion of ecosystem services by planting 3,100 trees and shrubs in Leiria National Forest.
- Initiative reinforces DPD’s commitment to sustainability and aims to promote decisions that positively impact the community and the planet.
DPD Portugal, the leading company in the domestic express transport market, has established a partnership with ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável – with the launch of a habitat recovery project of priority conservation in the Mata Nacional de Leiria.
The initiative, already underway, includes the planting of 3,100 native trees and shrubs, such as juniper, mastic tree and hedgehog.
With this investment, DPD Portugal intends to directly contribute to the valorization of ecosystem services – that is, the multiple benefits that nature provides to society and that are often not properly accounted for: from climate regulation to biodiversity preservation, including water retention, protection against erosion or cultural enjoyment of natural spaces.
DPD Portugal’s investment in the Leiria National Forest during the 2024-2025 planting season immediately began to provide ecosystem services for society as a whole. Furthermore, after 12 years, the amount invested by DPD Portugal will already be generating positive value in relation to the investment made and, in subsequent years, the value of the services provided to society could represent 4 to 9 times* the amount invested.
* based on data from the European Commission, it is estimated that ecosystem services associated with forests have a return value of €2,072/hectare per year.
Francisco Ferreira, Chairman of the Board of ZERO, states:
“It is very important that companies unequivocally implement their climate neutrality plans, especially those that are intrinsically linked to the transport sector - the transport sector is the main consumer of energy and the main responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in Portugal. Furthermore, it is important not to forget that it is necessary to invest in natural capital, through nature restoration actions, since it is now clear that this is an investment that results in the immediate provision of ecosystem services to society and that the value invested has a return in a few years.”
Rui Nobre, General Manager of Operations at DPD Portugal, says:
“At DPD Portugal we believe that sustainability is not limited to operational efficiency or fleet decarbonization. It is also a commitment to the region and future generations. This partnership with ZERO allows us to take concrete action to preserve ecosystems and enhance natural capital, contributing to an environmental transformation that we want to be lasting and significant.”
Since 2022, Geopost and its subsidiaries have led the way in reducing GHG emissions in parcel deliveries, publicly committing to become Net Zero by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. We were the first company in our sector to have our short- and long-term targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to reduce our emissions by 43% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 compared to 2020 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, offsetting any remaining emissions (no more than 10%). To this end, selected solutions must neutralize (or remove from the atmosphere) any remaining GHG emissions through nature-based or technological activities that permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. For example, nature-based solutions include planting new forests and storing carbon captured in the soil, so this project reflects the sustainability vision that DPD Portugal has been consolidating in recent years with the creation of an integrated strategy that combines the decarbonization of operations with active responsibility in environmental regeneration.
The partnership with ZERO therefore represents another concrete step on the company's path towards net zero, with a real impact on the territory and the community.
