Tim Jones, Director of Marketing, Communications & Sustainability, DPDgroup UK commented; "We are delighted to be able to support the team at Cody Dock with these two projects. We are still relatively new in the area, but it has been fantastic to find out more about the ongoing work to restore the dock and protect habitats and biodiversity. It is clear the local community is hugely engaged with the facilities and the project, and we very much want to play a role in that and contribute positively to the area. While the Docklands site is one of our most sustainable in the UK and we continue to transform our own operation, we also want to support organisations like Gasworks Dock Partnership, that are able to directly protect and enhance the ecosystems we are all reliant on."
Gasworks Dock Partnership is a registered charity and social enterprise formed to act as a vehicle for the community led regeneration of Cody Dock and local waterways. The charity aims to help people access the Lower Lea's environment and celebrate the area's industrial heritage by developing a community-based arts and creative industries quarter, forge links with the wider community and work with volunteers to clean up and restore the riverside.
In November 2023, DPD opened its new Docklands centre, next to Cody Dock, Bow. One of its most sustainable sortation facilities to date, Docklands has capacity for 500 electric vehicles, which means DPD can provide an all-electric delivery service within London's north and south circular area. The new site is a diesel-free operation. Solar panels on the parking canopy help charge the electric vans and a 40,000 litre HVO tank enables the fleet of LGVs and 7.5T trucks to fill-up with the renewable biofuel. Solar panels on the main roof generate up to 1 million kwh per annum to help power the entire building.
DPD has donated £50,000 from the firm's innovative Eco Fund to create Kingfisher and Sand Martin habitat and nesting sites at Cody Dock. Kingfishers nest on linear waterways, including the River Lea and have been spotted at Cody Dock, while Sand Martins are a migratory bird that normally burrows in steep sandy cliffs, but have been seen nesting in the gaps in the dock wall. The project includes volunteer recruitment and schools engagement as well as the installation of a Kingfisher bank and Sand Martin nest tubes with monitoring equipment. DPD's Eco Fund is part of the company's wide-ranging sustainability programme and is funded solely by the firm's circular economy initiatives. Plastic shrink wrap used throughout the operation is broken down, and then recycled to create new shrink wrap. The money generated from this, along with the recycling of wooden pallets, goes straight into the Eco Fund to fund sustainable projects benefiting the environment.
