Green sorting centre packaging energy and efficiency savings

A new sorting centre at Rosersberg, north of Stockholm, plays a major role in both meeting PostNord’s climate and energy goals and helping it refocus on a changing business environment.

The group’s long-term environmental target is to decrease CO2 emissions by 40% from 2009 to 2020, while at the same time it faces falling mail volumes, increasing parcel volumes and logistics as well as changing customer demands.

The 50,000 m² Rosersberg centre opened its doors in late 2014, consolidating mail services previously served by terminals in Uppsala, Tomteboda and Norrköping. It is equipped with new technology for sorting letters and flat and bulky items, involving automated and cost-efficient processing techniques. Consideration for staff health has also been important when investing in the project.

As well as being operationally efficient, PostNord has focused on making the building energy efficient too and is certified according to GreenBuilding. On the roof, solar panels cover an area of about 2,000 m² and are anticipated to provide around 4% of the terminal’s electricity needs. The remaining electricity need is provided from eco-labelled sources.

The centre is also situated along the main railway line in Sweden, and a great deal of mail volumes are transported by trains powered from eco-labelled sources, removing lorries from the roads. PostNord expects more trains to be used in future, especially if there is a change in postal regulations for over-night delivery requirements.

Although the project will not become fully operational until the end of 2015, PostNord has reported good progress, with all the expected outcomes met to date.