Green Postal Day

24 posts worldwide take part today in the 6th Green Postal Day, celebrating the global cooperation within the postal industry worldwide for more than 15 years. 

As key players in the transport and logistics sector, postal operators worldwide started to work together in 2008 by launching the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) and then in 2019 the Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) . 

IPC CEO Holger Winklbauer said: “Posts have significantly reduced their CO₂ emissions by putting sustainability at the heart of their business strategies, by adapting their operations, by turning to renewable energy and replacing their fleet by alternative-fuel vehicles. And what is most remarkable about the postal contribution to sustainability is that they achieved this together as an industry, through global cooperation, for more than 15 years.”

Since the beginning of their cooperation in 2008, posts have reduced their overall annual CO₂ emissions by almost 40%*  and are committed to reach a 50% reduction by 2030, compared to their 2019 carbon emissions. 

As transport remains one of the main sources of postal CO₂ emissions, the key priority for posts has always been to progressively replace their fleet by alternative fuel vehicles, mainly electrical. Posts have committed to the joint target of having at least 50% of their fleet composed of alternative fuel vehicles by 2030. They are well placed to achieve this target with already 28%*  of alternative fuel vehicles in their overall fleet today. 

In line with the 17th UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) “Partnerships for the goals”, posts worldwide believe in global partnership for sustainable development. Partnerships between posts from Europe, America, Oceania, Africa and South-East Asia have allowed them to benefit from each other’s experiences and best practices and to advance further towards their sustainability goals. 

As sustainability concerns the whole value chain, posts call for cooperation and partnership with all players, and are already involved in different kind of partnerships with stakeholders: 

• Through sustainable procurement programmes, posts ensure that their suppliers adhere to sustainability principles. 
• Postal partnerships also focus on the development of innovative solutions to reduce emissions and waste and to expand innovative sustainable delivery options. 
• Posts already recycle or reuse 69% of their waste. In many countries, posts contribute to a circular economy by collecting items from other industries to then be recycled (satchels, masks, telecoms equipment, …).

In essence, while individual companies play a crucial role in sustainability, an industry-wide approach can amplify efforts, drive systemic change, and foster a more cohesive and effective response to global sustainability challenges.

2030 targets

• Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction of 50% from the 2019 baseline. 
• Energy use in own buildings from renewable sources of 75%
• Vehicle fleet comprising at least 50% alternative fuel vehicles, with at least 25% of the total fleet to be electric vehicles
• 50% sustainable packaging
• 75% diversion of waste diverted from landfill to either recycling or reuse.

About Green Postal Day

The Green Postal Day is a global campaign initiated by CEOs of posts participating in the IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) programme, aiming to highlight the sustainability commitments made by postal organisations worldwide. 

The full Green Postal Day website can be found here.

About postal sector sustainability

The IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) was launched in 2019 to address the sustainability objectives of the postal sector for the next ten years, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of July 2023, 26  posts from America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania participate in the programme. It expands on the 2008-2019 Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) programme, which focused on reducing carbon emissions, and broadens the remit to the seven sustainability focus areas most relevant for the postal sector:

• Health and Safety,
• Learning and Development,
• Resource Efficiency,
• Air Quality,
• Circular Economy,
• Sustainable Procurement and
• Climate Change.

* 2023 Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) results