Royal Mail, UPS and DHL’s parent Deutsche Post have come top of a new index for the quality oftheir sustainability reporting with ‘A’ grades in the mail, freight and shipping category, while
FedEx, Japan Post and Poste Italiane finished bottom of the 12 Fortune 500 companies examined.The index was compiled by the Roberts Environmental Center at Claremont McKenna College inCalifornia, and based on a study last year of the sector’s top players and how they reportedsustainability between 2002 and September 2006.
Academics at the centre analysed the companies’ environmental and social reporting and theiruse of indicators such as energy use, emissions during transport, R&D on green technologies,driver safety training, working hours and employee satisfaction.
Royal Mail came top of the tree with an A+ rating for its reporting, while UPS, Deutsche Postand Nippon Express shared second spot.
“Royal Mail Holdings, Deutsche Post, and Nippon Express are putting forth a great effort toplace distribution centres in the most efficient locations to minimize delivery route distances andfuel consumption,” the analysts wrote in the report.
But of the other main global courier, express and postal players, some scored surprisinglypoorly. France’s La Poste, which is currently converting a large part of its delivery van fleet touse electric vehicles, scored an average C, as did FedEx, often cited as a pioneer in developinggreen technology in the sector. Japan Post was awarded a D grade, Poste Italiane an F, while TNTand USPS lagged behind the top four with marks of B minus.
Three companies made contact with the centre during the analysis. USPS proposed to improveits reporting techniques prior to the centre’s next report, while La Poste finally published anEnglish language version of its sustainability report on its web site, elevating it from dead lastto mid-ranking, said the analysts.
“TNT opined that their presence in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index put them in front ofthe sector irrespective of our analysis,” the report said.
The report concluded that: “Throughout the industry there is still room for significantimprovement… most notably in social and environmental performance. It is evident that the mail,freight and shipping sector is aware of the benefits of transparency and each corporation isseeking to improve its operations with this in mind.”
