With sustainability a headline issue for companies across the globe, postal services are pushing to reduce their carbon footprints. In the case of Australia Post, it recently announced the hitting of its 2020 environmental targets, having reduced carbon emissions by 25% and diverted 100,000 tons of material from landfill.
Australia Post executive general manager, community and consumer, Nicole Sheffield said, “Since 2000 we have reduced our carbon emissions by 25% – the equivalent to moving 41,665 cars off the road – and since 2016 we’ve diverted 100,000 tons of material from landfill.
“This is extremely significant given the number of addresses we deliver to increases every year and parcel volumes continue to grow. In April this year alone our parcel volumes were 64% higher than the same time in 2019. But there is always more to do, so we’ve set ambitious new targets that help us continue to drive a sustainable future for all Australians.”
Australia Post’s next environmental targets will see a 15% reduction in emissions by 2025, equaling a total carbon reduction of 127,315 tons, in addition to a 70% uplift in recycling and a 20% decrease in operational waste relative to its 2019 baseline.
The company has deployed a number of initiatives to meet its commitments. “Our plastic satchels are made from 80% recycled contents and we have a soft-plastics recycling partnership with REDCycle,” said Sheffield highlighted.
“We’ve also introduced carbon neutral delivery for parcels sent via our retail network and MyPost Business platform, offsetting the emissions of over 62 million parcels in the past year.
“We’re also very proud to be Australia’s largest electric fleet operator with more than 1,100 electric delivery vehicles and almost 2,500 electric bikes delivering to homes and businesses around the country.”
