Panalpina highlights progress in 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report

Panalpina today released its 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report, showcasing the progress it has made in its sustainability performance and programs. The company reduced its paper and water usage, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.The report was prepared in accordance with the latest standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Panalpina’s 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report describes the company’s efforts to find smart, effective ways to reduce its impact on the environment and to be a responsible partner for its key stakeholders and the communities where it operates. More importantly, the company is considering how sustainability integrates into its core business activities and offers added value to its customers and business partners.

“Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have for Panalpina,” says Karl Weyeneth, Panalpina’s chief commercial officer. “We want to manage our resources effectively and be a good corporate citizen. At the same time, more and more of our customers want their suppliers to address this topic credibly.”

Panalpina improved its sustainability performance across the board in 2014, as various metrics show. Corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 7%, including a 21% decrease attributable to business-related travel. Energy used for heating decreased by 14%, paper usage by 8% and water consumption by 9%.

“The overall trends are positive. In part, they are the result of the increased scrutiny and careful management we have applied to these issues,” says Lindsay Zingg, global head of quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) at Panalpina.

The report also describes Panalpina’s PanGreen sustainability program. PanGreen, which is the focal point for the company’s sustainability initiatives, enjoys strong support across the organization. This was demonstrated by the broad employee engagement during Panalpina’s first global Environmental Day.

In addition, the report documents employee training and development efforts, and further improvements to its already robust quality, health and safety programs.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score for 2014 will be available in a few months’ time because of the comprehensive data analysis involved. The last CDP score showed a 10-point increase from 2012 to 2013 to 85 points. Panalpina expects that it can maintain or even improve on this already high score once the 2014 data has been evaluated by CDP.

The 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report was prepared in accordance with the latest G4 version of the corporate sustainability reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It was produced with the support of Sustainserv, an international sustainability consultancy based in Zurich, Switzerland and Boston, USA.