Twenty major postal operators today committed themselves in Copenhagen to cutting their CO2emissions by 20% by 2020. This is the first collective global emissions target to be set by a
service industry.The objective was announced by the International Post Corporation (IPC) at the release of itsfirst Sustainability Report at a press conference parallel to the UN Climate Change conference inthe Danish capital. The IPC represents 24 major postal operators, with over 100,000 facilities and600,000 transport vehicles.
The 20 participating Posts, who collectively account for 80% of the world’s mail volumes, areAn Post (Ireland), Australia Post, Canada Post, Correios de Portugal, Correos (Spain), DeutschePost, Groupe La Poste (France), Hellenic Post (Greece), Itella (Finland), La Poste/De Post(Belgium), Magyar Posta (Hungary), New Zealand Post, Norway Post, Posten Norden (Denmark andSweden), Luxembourg Post, Royal Mail, Swiss Post, TNT and the United States Postal Service.Austrian Post and Poste Italiane plan to join the initiative next year. The other two IPC membersare Cyprus Post and Iceland Post.
The 20 post operators emitted 8.36 million tonnes of CO2 in 2008, the IPC SustainabilityReport showed. This was 29 grams per item. Transport (vehicles, aviation, rail) accounted for 35%,heating for 14% and electricity for 51% of the total, which represents about 0.03% of globalemissions. The -20% target will reduce the emissions total in absolute terms to 6.69 million tonnesby 2020.
The figures in the IPC ‘Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System’ (EMMS) cover CO2emissions from the operators’ mail and parcels businesses (Scope 1 and 2) but exclude emissionsfrom sub-contractors and suppliers (Scope 3). Furthermore, they exclude the operators’ express,logistics and other business activities. However, the IPC plans to incorporate Scope 3 CO2emissions and the other business areas in next year’s report, and also to measure other greenhousegases.
In comparison, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), representing 191 countries, estimates thatthe worldwide postal industry had CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) of at least 26 million tonnes in2008, based on data from 99 postal operators. Posts in industrialised countries accounted for 11million tonnes while those in developing countries released 15 million tonnes, the UN agency saidearlier this month. One reason for the difference between the IPC and the UPU figures may be thatIPC’s membership is based in Europe, North America and Australasia and their figures thus excludelarge postal operators in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Presenting the sustainability report, IPC chairman Jean-Paul Bailly (CEO of Groupe La Poste),declared: “This is a momentous occasion, not just for us in the postal industry, but for businessas a whole. As the first services sector to unite on a global scale to tackle its industry’s globalcarbon footprint, we’re demonstrating what can be done when organisations work together. CurbingCO2 emissions is something that concerns the entire industry, and it makes sense to take a sectorapproach to reaching a solution.”
“We are all convinced that sustainable development will be more and more at the heart ofstrategy,” he added during a CEO panel discussion. Key measures included more efficient roadtransportation, more environmentally-friendly driving, and a modal switch from air to road or evenrail where possible, he said.
Deutsche Post DHL chief executive Frank Appel stressed that customers “are demanding moreand more carbon-neutral ways to deliver items”. The 20% reduction target was a “self-obligation”and the 20 operators “will strive to be the top in our industry”, he pointed out.
TNT CEO Peter Bakker added: “This is a platform to start reducing CO2 and not just talkabout it.” He highlighted the sharing of best practices through the EMMS initiative and thepotential to collaborate in areas such as joint tenders for electric vehicles. If the postal sectorcould combine future orders for electric vehicles, this would reduce unit costs for the vehicles,he pointed out.
Posts cannot afford not to improve their energy efficiency while sustainability will helpmake them more attractive employers, commented Posten Norden CEO Lars Nordström. The Scandinavianoperator is already setting aside the costs of emissions trading for future investment in vehiclesor IT, he pointed out.
The US Postal Service already has 43,000 alternative fuel vehicles in its 200,000-strongfleet, pointed out CEO Jack Potter.
IPC CEO Hubert-Michael Zapf stressed that the EMMS initiative was open for other postaloperators around the world to join in. “This is a starting-point and I’m very optimistic that otherPosts will see the same urgency as our members,” he commented. The IPC will measure members’environmental impact on an annual basis in the future.
The EMMS programme is a pro-active voluntary industry initiative aimed at reducing thesector’s environmental impact. The IPC does not anticipate sector regulations in the near-mediumterm, as there are other more polluting industries such as mining, airlines and agriculture,officials pointed out.
Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC), applauded the IPC’s initiative. “I welcome this global commitment by an entireservice sector as an example of the vision and leadership required at all levels to effectivelycombat climate change, and I encourage the postal sector to continue to set an example.”
