Postal operators worldwide participating in the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System(EMMS) of the International Postal Corporation (IPC) have successfully reduced their CO2 emissions
by over 3.5% compared to last year even exceeding the required rate to meet the 20% target by2020.Since the start of the EMMS programme in 2008, the participating postal operators saved over onemillion tonnes (1,187,000 tonnes) in CO2 emissions and 261,000 tonnes since 2011, IPC reported inits latest Postal Sector Sustainability Report for 2012.
As the first sector-wide sustainability programme in the services sector, EMMS was launched witha group target of reducing postal sector CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020, based on 2008 baselinefigures. To date, the postal sector has already achieved more than half of the target (over 11%).In the 2011 Postal Sector Sustainability Report, IPC announced that participating posts hadcollectively cut their carbon emissions by 926,000 tonnes, representing more than half of the 2020target.
Launched as a pilot in 2008 with 16 posts, EMMS was expanded in 2009 to 20 posts reporting oncarbon emissions reduction efforts, to 22 in 2010 with Poste Italiane and Austrian Post signing upfor the programme, and to 23 in 2011 with the addition of the South African Post Office. This year,IPC further expanded its geographical scope adding two new postal operators, Correios Brazil andNigeria Post, to the programme.
Among significant improvements achieved this year, international posts improved their managementproficiency 5% year-on-year from 65% to 70% with a target of 90% to be achieved by 2020. Anotherimportant achievement is the impressive increase in the fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles used bythe EMMS group, from 10% in 2010 to 17% in 2011 with a total of 527,000 vehicles.
This year, the IPC report highlights the importance of considering the entire value chainregarding the indirect emissions. To monitor carbon emissions throughout the wider supply chain anddistribution networks, EMMS participants and IPC have agreed to primarily focus ontransport-related impacts divided into four categories. These include outsourced or sub-contractedroad transport; outsourced or sub-contracted air transport; employee commuting, and businesstravel.
As part of their environmental commitment, EMMS participants have submitted their best-practicecases and presented various collaborative initiatives engaging suppliers, subcontractors and evencustomers to ensure a greener value chain.
In Sweden for example, the postal operator PostNord and the air cargo specialist Amapola havepartnered to considerably reduce fuel consumption and environmental impacts of airmail deliverieswhich adds to PostNord’s own long-term emissions reduction goal.
In the USA, USPS and UPS are working together to achieve operational and sustainability goals,reduce costs and the carbon footprint of its networks to the benefit of their respective customers.As part of the cooperation, UPS provides air and ground transportation and international servicesfor USPS, while USPS provides last-mile delivery, known as Parcel Select, for certain UPScustomers.
“The impressive results reflect the continued efforts by the EMMS participants to innovate, bothin terms of the efficiency of their products, services and technologies and in driving thebehavioural changes needed to address the challenge of climate change. If we continue at this rate,we will reach our goal of a 20% CO2 emissions reduction by 2020 much earlier than anticipated,”Zapf concluded.
