The ‘yellow giant’ goes green

47 000 employees, 100 million parcels and almost 900 million letters are delivered each year. Swiss Post is one of the largest logistics companies around and, with PostBus, it is also Switzerland’s largest bus operator. Swiss Post has set itself an ambitious climate and energy target and has committed itself to further increasing energy efficiency. 

Swiss Post, with the largest vehicle fleet in the country and its many properties, currently generates around 1 per cent of Switzerland’s CO₂ emissions. However, this also gives it many opportunities to reduce its CO₂ emissions. Swiss Post takes its responsibility seriously and has therefore accelerated its climate and energy target: as of 2025, it will transport letters and parcels in urban centres in a climate-neutral manner. From 2030, Swiss Post will be completely climate-neutral in its own operations. This includes switching to alternative drives, 100 per cent electricity from renewable energy sources in Switzerland and phasing out fossil fuels for heating. As of 2040, Swiss Post will be climate neutral across its entire value-added chain. In setting its goal, Swiss Post is guided by the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Confederation’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2030.

Committed to setting an example
With the launch of the UN 2030 Agenda special stamp, the Swiss Confederation and Swiss Post are symbolically demonstrating their commitment to sustainability. The idea for the branding emerged during preparations for the UN World Data Forum in Bern and the brand design cleverly picks up on this connection. 

Of course, Swiss Post also wishes to create facts in reality and save on 42% of its current CO₂ emissions by 2030 (base year 2021). To name two examples, Swiss Post already has a large fleet of e-tricycles and electric delivery vans to deliver letters and parcels and it also operates 27 photovoltaic systems on the roofs of its buildings. Christian Plüss, Head of Mobility Services, Member of the Executive Board and Sustainability Ambassador at Swiss Post says: “With the accelerated climate and energy target, Swiss Post is setting an example in the Swiss corporate world and is making a significant contribution to the federal energy strategy. ” 

Counting on employees for greater sustainability
To achieve its climate and energy target, it is crucial for Swiss Post that its employees are aware of and support its efforts. In August, Swiss Post organised a sustainability week for this purpose. Employees were introduced to its various sustainability projects with a roadshow at 18 logistics sites, a mobility challenge, an online competition and market stalls at the Swiss Post’s headquarters in Bern. Examples included casa verde (sustainable real estate), localonly.ch (distribution of regional products) and rout:E (electrification of vehicles). 

The highlight of the week was a presentation by climate researcher Prof. Dr Thomas Stocker (University of Bern). His solution to achieving a maximum global warming of 2 degrees sounds simple: “We need to change our consumer behaviour. Instead of buying new clothes, cars or mobile phones, we should ask ourselves how we can keep our existing consumer goods alive longer and thus save resources.”

More information on Swiss Post’s commitment to sustainability can be found here: www.post.ch/our-climate