PostNord leads the industry into the low-carbon economy

With its leading position and important role in society, PostNord has a considerable responsibility to contribute to sustainable development in an industry that depends on transport. The Group has conducted goal-oriented work on sustainability issues for a long time, and is now raising its ambitions yet again.

“The aim is to lead the letter and logistics industry into the low-carbon economy by becoming fossil free by 2030. With a clear goal of becoming fossil free, PostNord continues to take responsibility for the national and global climate goals,” says PostNord President and Group CEO Annemarie Gardshol.

The Group is working to draw up green business plans for how the transition can be implemented, taking into account the conditions in the various Nordic markets. Including suppliers, customers and consumers in the efforts is a key element in achieving the goal.

“With the full support of the board behind us, we will be able to make even more climate-friendly investments, but the goal of becoming fossil free includes not only our own vehicles, but also those of subcontractors who perform transports on our behalf. We are a large buyer of transport services, and thus have the opportunity to transform an entire infrastructure. In order for us to be able to carry out this transformation together, we will share our lessons learned, both positive and negative,” says Annemarie Gardshol.

Achieving the goal will require innovation in areas ranging from efficient logistics and e-commerce to increased electrification and secure access to biofuels in all our markets.

Reducing our carbon footprint by 40 percent by 2020 compared to 2009 was a challenge.

“The ambition was high when the CO2 goal was defined and, as the volumes being transported have increased significantly due to volumes relating to parcels increasing rapidly, it was a real challenge to achieve it. But thanks to excellent focus and a clear vision of the goal, we managed it! This gives us the confidence to take on an ambitious new climate goal,” says Annemarie Gardshol.

Examples of PostNord’s success in the area of sustainability:

• reduced its carbon footprint by 40 percent compared to 2009
• provision of support for customers in the printing industry, who are wholeheartedly investing in digital printing for sustainable development
• less empty space when packing vans and trucks, for example by using the innovative SpaceInvaders system, which can be used to stack pallets
• fossil-free delivery operations throughout Södermalm in Stockholm and in the city center of Malmö, Sweden
• ranked the most sustainable logistics brand, according to Swedish consumers*

Examples of upcoming activities that will help achieve the climate goals:

• methodical reviews of customer transport arrangements, to identify more climate-smart solutions
• fossil-free transports in various Finnish and Swedish cities
• investment in electric and other environmentally friendly vehicles in Norway
• participation in the EthaDrive project, where two ethanol-powered heavy trucks, based in Norrköping, Sweden, started operating in fall 2020
• reduction of the climate impact by ensuring use of electric distribution vehicles by third-party customers (TPL)
• new environmentally friendly terminal in Tampere, Finland

 
* For the second time, PostNord Sweden heads the industry rankings in the European brand study Sustainable Brand Index (brand study about sustainability in the consumer market in Sweden; the ranking is a combination of both environmental factors and social responsibility, based on the definition of sustainability according to the UN’s sustainable development goals).

You can read more about our sustainability work on the Group’s website: https://www.postnord.com/sustainability.

Source: PostNord