Marijn Slabbekoorn's achievement in this election? Setting up a complete sustainability programme for DHL Netherlands. The finalist started as a part-time courier at DHL Express seven years ago and now has an impressive track record in sustainability.
During his master's at Delft University of Technology, Slabbekoorn did research at TNO, where he graduated on Stakeholder Management in the last mile. Meanwhile, the finalist was still on the bus for DHL Express. Slabbekoorn saw opportunities; he sent a letter to the director outlining his vision for DHL. "Within a week, I was hired," he says.
That took some getting used to at the beginning, says Slabbekoorn. The finalist brought little experience when he joined as a GoGreen specialist. "I didn't know the corporate world. Every step I wanted to take naturally had to be researched and substantiated. I started small. One of my first cases was the deployment of electric cars in Amsterdam. That turned out to do well financially, partly thanks to subsidies we could claim. Then we continued to build. The Dutch branch now operates the largest emission-free fleet of DHL Express."
In recent years, the finalist has set up a full sustainability programme at DHL Express. "The fortunate case was that during that period we were setting up a whole new infrastructure, with all kinds of new premises. This had not yet included many sustainability measures, for example in terms of energy management. I dived into that and managed to make a conclusive case. The new buildings are always energy-neutral and are built to the highest sustainability certification, BREAAM Outstanding. The great thing is that we didn't just make the new buildings sustainable; all the old buildings were also tackled afterwards, with the result that the Netherlands has more than a quarter of DHL Express' energy-neutral buildings worldwide.
The manager currently works as Program Manager Go Green, at European level. "I extend the best practices from the Netherlands to other European countries. All major cities will have to deal with zero-emission zones. With current technology, you won't solve that yet with electric transport. That is why we are opening hubs on the outskirts of cities. Our goal is ambitious: by 2025, seventy per cent of all routes to and from customers should be zero-emission."
Slabbekoorn doesn't like hearing 'no' in his mission to make DHL a sustainable company. "For example, if it's not a good time to realise something, someone else might shrug. Instead, I look for other ways that do fit within the current climate. For instance, through other constructions. That might be cocky, but I see it as my strength."
You can read about the achievements of the Logistic Manager of the Year finalists here. On 28 March, all finalists will climb onto the stage to convince the professional jury and the public one last time. The final day will take place in Media Plaza, Jaarbeurs Utrecht. More information about the programme and (free) registrationfind here.
