bpost heads international environmental management ranking

In 2013 bpost moved into first place in the annual ranking by the International Post Corporation (IPC) of its members’ environmental management efforts. IPC unites postal operators in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia Pacific. Together these operators represent over 80% of global postal volumes.

The news was announced by Johnny Thijs, CEO of bpost, at a meeting with the press this morning.

First place in the ranking is the reward for many years’ environmental efforts by bpost: in 2007-2012 carbon emissions from operations were cut by 32%, in 2005-2012 energy consumption fell by 15%, and in 2009-2012 waste was reduced by 10%. Customers sending large quantities of mail were also given the opportunity to offset the remaining carbon emissions. The Belgian Federal Public Service of Finance for instance recently took the decision to make all its mail carbon-neutral.

Over recent years bpost has introduced various initiatives to make its business operations environmentally friendly. All electricity purchased by bpost is certified ‘renewable source’, 15000m2 of solar panels have been installed and ISO 14001 certification has been earned for the large buildings (especially sorting centres), confirming the good environmental management in place there. Almost 2500 electrical bikes have been purchased to replace existing mopeds and over 4000 employees have followed eco-driving training, resulting in up to10% saving on fuel.

“Our environmental efforts do not stop here,” said Johnny Thijs. “By 2020 we aim to slash our carbon emissions by 45%, compared with 2007. Every bpost customer can rest assured that his or her letters and parcels are sent in an environmentally friendly way.”