Kuehne+Nagel wins the Responsible AI Impact Award, a global recognition that celebrates organisations leading the way in ethical, human-centred artificial intelligence. 

"This honour affirms our position as a trailblazer in responsible AI, where innovation is guided by conscience and technology is built to serve people," said Niklas Sundberg, Chief Digital Officer at Kuehne+Nagel. "The award is a testament to our commitment to building AI that is not only powerful but also principled. It reflects the work of our global teams who have embedded responsible AI into our governance, training and operational frameworks." 

Awards were presented this week in London at the SustainableIT Impact Summit during London Climate Action Week to organisations pioneering achievements in responsible AI and sustainable technology leadership. 

What the award recognises 

The Responsible AI Impact Award recognises organisations that exemplify and facilitate the effective and sustainable deployment of artificial intelligence at scale within the enterprise. The goal of this award is to spotlight and honour outstanding organisations that adopt and leverage AI technologies in ways that: 

• Optimise business and societal value 
• Ensure security and safety 
• Promote equity and inclusion 
• Foster environmental stewardship 
   

"At Kuehne+Nagel, we believe that AI should always follow our lead. It must be inclusive, explainable and accountable. This award is not just recognition of our technology—it's recognition of our values," said Mark Buckle, Head of Strategic AI at Kuehne+Nagel. "We want to put AI at the fingertips of all our people so that we can use new technologies to benefit both our employees and customers." 

Leading AI innovation in logistics 

In the logistics sector, Kuehne+Nagel is a frontrunner in AI, leading the way and creating value for customers. Several AI initiatives are already live for customers' benefit. 

"For example, we are using tailor-made generative AI algorithms to detect and remove duplicates from customer master data. With gen AI, we have significantly decreased the time needed to clean up the data, and at the same time accuracy has gone up to more than 90%," Sundberg added. "AI is helping us to automate almost real-time processing of expense reports internally. Also, we are using AI to predict estimated time of arrival to offer a better customer experience. Not to forget our efforts to deploy AI into our pricing models and customer service systems." 

The 3Ps philosophy 

At the core of Kuehne+Nagel's approach to AI are the 3Ps that define the AI philosophy: 

• People first: Kuehne+Nagel designs AI to augment human potential, not replace it. Systems are built to empower employees, customers and partners with intelligent tools that enhance human judgement, not override it. 
• Principle-driven: Kuehne+Nagel's Responsible AI Policy ensures that every AI solution is developed with transparency, fairness and accountability. The company upholds the highest ethical standards, embedding human oversight and environmental responsibility into every layer of the AI lifecycle. 
• Problem-centric: Innovation is not pursued for its own sake. The company always looks at the problem at hand first and only then decides what is the right technology to solve it. 

Industry recognition 

The 2025 Responsible AI Impact Award recognised organisations that exemplify the ethical, sustainable and high-impact deployment of artificial intelligence in enterprise and institutional settings. Award recipients include both enterprises deploying AI internally and commercial solution providers. 

"As artificial intelligence and digital transformation continue to reshape the global economy, sustainability has become an essential business outcome—on par with growth, agility and customer experience. Yet, the sustainable practices and responsible AI achievements of IT leaders often go unrecognised," said Dave Best, Vice President of SustainableIT.org. "The 2025 Responsible AI Award recipients are not only demonstrating what's possible with responsible innovation—they're redefining technology's role in creating a sustainable, inclusive and equitable future. Their leadership inspires us all." 

Across industries as diverse as healthcare, logistics, financial services, higher education and ESG compliance, the winners have demonstrated that responsible AI is not only feasible but also a strategic advantage. Award winners have shown that responsible AI initiatives can deliver substantial, measurable returns across operational efficiency, emissions reduction, compliance automation and workforce productivity. 

As one of the world's leading logistics companies, Kuehne+Nagel has opened a new IT competence centre in Portugal. Kuehne+Nagel’s Porto IT Hub contributes significantly to Kuehne+Nagel’s goal of accelerating digital technologies for its global customers. It focuses on the development of new mission-critical products, e-solutions and new digital services. This will advance Kuehne+Nagel’s digital core logistics processes with more efficiency through standardization and automation.

Kuehne+Nagel plans to hire more than 200 highly skilled software engineers in Porto by mid-2022. Porto is home to a vibrant international tech scene, new startups and development labs with highly skilled technology professionals from the country and abroad. Internationally recognised events such as the annually held Web Summit, confirm Portugal’s leading position in the tech sector.

Martin Kolbe, CIO and Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, says: “The new IT Hub is ideally timed to accelerate the roll out of our digital master plan. Here in Porto, we offer a fascinating and international working environment in the world of logistics for many different talents in IT.”