The driving of a green pile marked the start of construction of the climate-neutral DHL CityHub that will serve as a base for sustainable parcel delivery in Emmen and the surrounding area. It is the twelfth of 27 new CityHubs to be built in the Dutch network of a total of 140 local branches. The local CityHub will be built at Nijbracht 88 in industrial area Bargermeer in Emmen. This is near the N391 ring road with quick access to the city. Commissioning is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023 and will then replace the current location from which work is being done. All employees will move with it. From the new CityHub, over 100 employees will deliver 9,000 packages daily to households, stores and businesses located in Emmen, Coevorden, Klazienaveen, Schoonebeek, Odoorn and Valthermond. This will be done with electric delivery vehicles.
Sustainable last mile
The 27 newly built CityHubs are part of a network of 140 branches. All CityHubs are located on the outskirts of all urban areas, allowing the "last mile" to be carried out in the most efficient and sustainable way. An average of 90 trips per day depart from a CityHub, 60 of them during the day and 30 in the evening, with short routes containing 100 to 200 addresses. Short routes enable rapid sustainability because they can be carried out with electric vans, cargo bikes or other small vehicles. All new construction - including this CityHub in Emmen - takes place according to the highest sustainability standards of BREEAM. The buildings are gasless, equipped with solar panels and driven by an all-electric fleet. This investment is part of a comprehensive program of 350 million euros.
Foto: Marcel Jurian de Jong
27 new CityHubs
Meanwhile, 6 CityHubs have already officially opened: in Almere, Zoetermeer, Sittard-Geleen, Breda, Nijmegen and Tilburg. In the coming weeks, 5 more climate-neutral CityHubs will open; in Roermond, Leeuwarden, Groningen, Amsterdam-West and Aalsmeer. The remaining 16 including CityHub Emmen will follow later in 2023 and 2024. By the summer of 2023, the entire last mile of DHL eCommerce in the Netherlands will be fossil free, either by electric transport or by using HVO-100 diesel.
