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Green Postal Day Delivers Sustainability

[ September 20, 2024   //   ]

Two-dozen postal companies in North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Southeast Asia participated in Green Postal Day Sept. 19, celebrating more than 15 years of global partnership for a more sustainable postal system.
Since the start of their cooperation in 2008, these postal companies have reduced their total annual CO2 emissions by nearly 40 percent. By 2030, their goal is to lower CO2 emissions by an additional 50 percent compared to 2019, with 75 percent of energy consumption in their own buildings supplied by renewable energy sources.
As important players in the transport and logistics sector, postal companies have worked together since 2008 – initially through the jointly founded Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System, or EMMS, and since 2019 by way of the Sustainability Measurement and Management System, or SMMS. Twenty-six postal companies have taken part in the program.
“International cooperation among postal companies on climate protection is also important for our customers sending shipments abroad, because they expect reduced CO2e emissions along the entire route from sender to recipient, not just for portions of the route,” said Tobias Meyer, CEO, DHL Group.

Sustainable Priorities

In line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 – “Partnerships for the Goals” – postal companies worldwide are focusing on partnerships for sustainable development. This allows postal companies to benefit from each other’s experiences and drive further progress towards their sustainability targets. Collaboration and partnerships with all players are essential and already being put into practice:

  • Through sustainable procurement programs, postal companies ensure that their suppliers comply with sustainability principles.
  • An additional focus area of the partnerships is developing innovative solutions for reducing CO2 emissions and waste, as well as innovative options for sustainable delivery services.
  • The recycling rate for waste generated by postal companies is at 69 percent. In many countries, postal companies help promote the circular economy by collecting items from other sectors that are then recycled.
    “We need uniform standards and good regulation of sustainability like the so-called ‘Book and Claim’ so we can help our customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions,” DHL Group’s Meyer said. “Working together as an industry is the only way to achieve this. Postal companies are making huge investments to transport mail and e-commerce shipments more sustainably. Hence the call to our customers: Take advantage of the transport offers with CO2e reduction.”

Long Term Trends

The postal sector plays an important role in the transition to a circular economy – not only through reducing its own impact, but by providing the logistics required to enable more sustainable consumer behavior worldwide, DHL Group said in a press release. Optimized transport routes and reverse logistics will be important components of a circular economy and includes things like reducing fuel consumption and providing facilities in postal outlets for returning empty packaging. The postal sector can also build on its experience and networks to collaborate with governments and other sectors.
Decarbonizing long-haul transport is also becoming increasingly important to reducing the sector’s environmental impact. Last-mile delivery technologies are gradually being modified to meet the requirements of long-distance shipping. High-performance charging technology is still in the development and standardization phase. Today, several postal companies deploy electric trucks for long distance transport, including DHL Group.

Bio-CNG Trucks

DHL Group, with its Post & Parcel Germany division, have deployed 30,000 electric vehicles deployed, comprising up to 44 percent of its German fleet. By 2030, this percentage is expected to increase significantly, with plans to achieve a figure of 80 percent to 90 percent.
Reducing long-haul transport emissions remains challenging – as electric trucks with sufficient range are hardly available, charging infrastructure still does not provide nationwide coverage, and the trucks themselves remain extremely/hugely expensive. Consequently, DHL Group is focusing on Bio-CNG trucks as a transitional technology, with plans to purchase more than 450 such trucks in Germany by the end of 2024. Other alternative drive systems, such as hydrogen and HVO-powered vehicles, are already being tested and will increasingly be deployed in the next several years.
Deutsche Post and DHL are also investing in renovating and new construction of operations sites, such as delivery bases equipped with photovoltaic systems, heat pumps and building automation to reduce CO2 emissions. The percentage of electric power from renewable energy sources used in the German mail and parcel business is at 95 percent.

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