In 2014, Le Groupe La Poste’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team laid the foundations of its ambitious environmental plan. Two main primary targets were set: to achieve a 15% decrease in the postal service’s total GHG emissions by 2020, and also to successfully switch to a 100% renewable electricity supply over the same time period.
In October 2015, Le Groupe La Poste took the critical step of switching power to two thirds of the buildings operated by Poste Immo to renewable electricity. Since May 2016, 100% of the electricity purchased and used to power the offices, industrial and retail buildings managed by Poste Immo comes from renewable sources. Switching to renewable electricity has delivered three major benefits to Le Group La Poste.
Firstly, the strategic decision to make the transition to renewable energy fully aligns the postal service’s policy with that of both the French government and also the group’s shareholder, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.
Secondly, it has now established Le Group La Poste as a respected ‘green’ industry leader. The postal service owns one of the world’s largest electric vehicle fleets, which is now fully powered by renewable electricity.
Thirdly, from a financial standpoint, Le Groupe La Poste has successfully demonstrated that transitioning to renewable energy can deliver substantial cost savings. Le Groupe La Poste has committed to offsetting 100% of CO2 emissions from mail, parcel and digital operations. By transitioning to renewable energy, CO2 emissions have been considerably reduced, resulting in a decrease in offsetting costs.