September 18 marks Green Postal Day, when 22 postal companies worldwide will reaffirm their commitment to tackling climate change as a global, networked industry.
Since the launch of the industry’s partnership with International Post Corporation in 2008, the postal companies have reduced their overall collective CO2 emissions by more than 31,000,000 tons, the equivalent of taking 6.7 million cars off the road.
DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer commented, “Collaboration has been a cornerstone of the global postal industry for more than 150 years. Together, we have established common standards that allow letters and parcels to be exchanged seamlessly across borders. Sharing the same goal, postal operators from 22 countries have succeeded in reducing their annual CO2 emissions by one-third.
“As an industry, we have already achieved significant progress: much of the last mile is now electrified, around 30% of the electricity used comes from renewable sources, and ever more distribution centers are being built with ecological standards in mind.
“For the industry as a whole, and for DHL Group in particular, the next decisive step is to advance the electrification of heavy-duty transport and to make aviation cleaner using modern fleets and sustainable aviation fuels.”
Sustainability measures and objectives
Since 2008, postal companies have been working together on sustainability through the introduction of the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS), followed in 2019 by the Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS). These postal operators have reduced their total annual CO2 emissions by one-third and have pledged to cut emissions by 50% by 2030.
The sustainable use of resources has long been a priority for the postal sector in its efforts to minimize environmental impact. The industry is focusing on two key areas: ensuring that postal facilities are increasingly run on renewable electricity and progressively replacing its global fleet of 600,000 vehicles with alternative vehicles powered by cleaner fuels.
In addition, postal operators are working to cut CO2 emissions in the last mile by expanding the use of delivery vehicles with alternative drive systems. Increasingly, the industry is also focusing on heavy goods transportation, where decarbonization is critical to reducing environmental impact. Across the sector, more electric vans and trucks are being added to fleets, while alternative fuels are being tested for air freight. Postal companies are also optimizing truck loading and route planning to shrink their environmental footprint.
Another key focus is reducing the 1,570,000 metric tons of Scope 2 emissions produced annually by postal buildings. Expanding the use of renewable energy will be essential to achieving the industry’s 2030 climate targets. Several postal operators are already making use of solar power, with plans to significantly increase this in the coming years.
About Green Postal Day
Green Postal Day was established in 2019 by the CEOs of the postal companies participating in the IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS). The aim of this joint campaign is to highlight the environmental and business advantages achieved by the postal industry over the past 10 years by cooperating as a sector to reduce CO2 emissions. Postal operators from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceania are participating.
In related news, Hived, the UK’s first fully electric parcel delivery network, has announced a significant expansion of its service offering, launching all-electric haulage and long-distance transportation