Moving the World Smarter – DHL’s Green Logistics Vision

Reflections from Hyorhin, Staex’s Korean intern, on how logistics innovation can drive real sustainability across global supply chains

When I started writing this series about the German Indian Innovation Conference (GIIC) 2025, I wanted to understand not just what innovation looks like — but how it feels when it’s happening right in front of you. During the conference, each speaker showed a different face of collaboration, and this time, it was DHL that made me think deeply about what “sustainability” really means.

Listening to Volker Ratzmann, Executive Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs at DHL, I couldn’t help but compare his words to what I’ve seen back home in Korea. In Korea, we often talk about efficiency — faster delivery, tighter schedules, more automation. But Volker Ratzmann reminded me that true efficiency starts with empathy: understanding the people who actually make the system move.

At the panel “Fusion in Motion: From India to Germany — Smart Cities, Green Dreams, and Real-World Roads,” he spoke about decarbonization, electrification, and the global ambition to make logistics cleaner and smarter. But what stood out most wasn’t the technology — it was the story behind it.

Prof. Dr. Alexandra Mikityuk and Volker Ratzmann discussing DHL’s green logistics vision and the human side of sustainable innovation at the German Indian Innovation Conference (GIIC) 2025.

“When we talk about sustainability, it’s not about technology first — it’s about the people who live and work in those conditions,” Volker Ratzmann said during the panel. “You can build the best system, but if people can’t work properly within it, it’s not sustainable.”

Then he shared something that made the entire audience smile: when DHL asked its colleagues in India what mattered most in their new electric delivery vehicles, the top answer wasn’t speed or power — it was air conditioning. Simple, human, and deeply revealing.

That moment stayed with me. Sustainability, I realized, isn’t about designing perfect systems — it’s about designing systems that care.

Volker Ratzmann went on to explain how DHL is integrating new technologies into its global network to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.

This isn’t just talk — the numbers show it. According to DHL’s Sustainability Roadmap 2030, the company aims to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions from around 40 million tons CO₂e to under 29 million tons by 2030, transition 66% of its first- and last-mile vehicles to electric, and ensure all new buildings are climate-neutral. These figures reveal how DHL’s vision of “green balance” is already turning into measurable progress.

When we look at the broader logistics picture, the challenge becomes even clearer. In Germany, where DHL is headquartered, the transport sector still produces around 146 million tons of CO₂ each year, making it one of the country’s largest sources of emissions. Meanwhile, in India, logistics costs account for 13–14% of GDP, and studies show that improving freight efficiency could reduce these costs by up to 10%.

Both contexts show that sustainability in logistics isn’t just about technology — it’s about balance: between environmental responsibility, economic efficiency, and the human realities on the ground. So their vision goes beyond electrifying vehicles; it’s about creating an adaptive, data-driven network that can learn and improve in real time.

That resonates with what is done at Staex. At Staex, we build secure decentralized connectivity for machines and infrastructures — technology that allows data to move safely and autonomously between devices.

Imagine logistics hubs where information from trucks, sensors, and delivery routes flows freely across continents — without silos, without bottlenecks. That’s the kind of infrastructure Staex is building, and DHL’s approach to sustainability feels like a natural match. Both share the same goal: connecting systems and people in ways that make the world work smarter.

During the discussion, Prof. Dr. Alexandra Mikityuk, our CEO at Staex and the panel moderator highlighted how important it is for large organizations to connect these “human realities” with digital transformation. Her words tied it together perfectly — innovation is never just about technology; it’s about building bridges between people, ideas, and infrastructures.

As I left the conference hall, I kept thinking about that air-conditioning story. Maybe “DHL green logistics vision” isn’t just a goal for the future — it’s already happening, quietly and persistently, every time someone chooses to make technology work for people, not just through them.

Connecting Continents: DHL’s Sustainable Future with India

About Hyorhin Lee

I’m Hyorhin Lee, a Korean intern at Staex, exploring how technology, culture, and collaboration intersect across industries. Writing these reflections helps me see how innovation comes alive — one idea, one conversation, one connection at a time.