The International Post Corporation (IPC) celebrated Green Postal Day by releasing data on the progress of 18 postal companies in achieving their sustainability targets.
The postal companies include An Post, Austrian Post, Australia Post, bpost, Correos, CTT Portugal Post, Deutsche Post DHL, Hravtska Posta, Le Groupe La Poste, New Zealand Post, POST Luxembourg, Poste Italiane, Posti, PostNL, PostNord, Swiss Post, Royal Mail and USPS.
Collective yearly CO2 emissions were reduced by 34% in 2021 compared to 2008. In 2021, posts involved in the postal sustainability program operated a fleet of around 630,000 vehicles, with reducing the environmental impact of the vehicle network a priority for the sector.
Between 2012 and 2021, posts doubled the share of alternative fuel vehicles (from 12% to 24% of the postal fleet). Electrical vehicles account for 17% of the postal fleet. Posts have collectively targeted having 50% alternative fuel vehicles in their fleets by 2030 (against 22% in 2020).
While last-mile delivery has been a priority for reducing carbon footprint, the focus is shifting toward long-distance transportation by trucks where alternative fuel truck developments will be key. Participating posts reduced their aggregated electricity use by more than 17.5TWh – enough to power 1,500,000 US homes in 2021. By 2021, 34% of the energy used in postal buildings will be from renewable sources. By 2030, the posts aim to reach 75%.
According to the corporation, over half of consumers are willing to receive their parcel a few days later to reduce the environmental impact and about half of consumers want the delivery of their domestic or cross-border parcel to be carbon neutral.
Posts worldwide launched the first joint program in 2008, the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) program, which focused on reducing carbon emissions. The IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) was launched in 2019 to address the sustainability objectives of the postal sector for the next 10 years, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC, said, “Frequent extreme weather conditions in the past weeks, as well as the ongoing energy crisis, remind the importance of acting rapidly. Postal operators were pioneers in launching a sector approach to address their carbon footprint. They keep on their promises.”