CO2 emissions reductions by posts correspond to the carbon saved by 31 million solar panels a year

18 September 2025

Green Postal Day is a global campaign initiated by CEOs of posts participating in the International Postal Corporation Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) programme, aiming to highlight the sustainability commitments made by postal organisations worldwide. IPC is a cooperative association of 26 national postal services from across Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.
 
The IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) was launched in 2019 to address the sustainability objectives of the postal sector for the next ten years, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
An Post has impressive credentials in the campaign, they have supported since 2019, and have led the way in many of the targets set for Green Postal Day.

• An Post has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the end of 2025 (from a 2009 baseline) and are on track to achieve this target by year end. Five years ahead of the IPC campaign target. 
• An Post was the first postal company to deliver zero emission delivery for five city centres in Ireland 
• 48% of An Post delivery fleet are EV (as of September 2025), higher than the IPC average of 32% 
• An Post source 99% ‘green energy’ for all of our facilities in Ireland, this is above and beyond the IPC group target of 75% 

As key players in the transport and logistics sector, postal operators worldwide started to work together in 2008 by launching the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) and then in 2019 the Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS). 
 
Since the beginning of their cooperation, so far, posts have reduced their overall collective CO₂ emissions by more than 31 million tonnes. Since the beginning of the SMMS programme in 2008 Posts have cut their annual emissions by 40% compared to the 2008 baseline and by 17% on 2019 baseline and are committed to reach a 50% reduction by 2030. 
 
32% of the postal fleet is now composed of alternative-fuel vehicles, of which 26% are electric. Hence, posts have reached their 2030 target regarding the electrification of their fleet, five years ahead. About 36% of the electricity used in postal facilities is sourced from renewable energy. 
 
The emissions savings made by the posts are equivalent to:

• The emissions saved by 31m solar panels a year, generating enough energy for four million average European homes annually, or nearly 3.5% of the total annual electricity consumption of Germany.
• 🚗 Taking approximately 6.7 million average cars off the road for a year.
• The carbon emissions saved by 11,373 onshore wind turbines in one year.

The sustainable use of resources has always been a key priority for the postal sector to reduce its environmental impact. The focus is both to ensure that electricity used in postal facilities is sourced from renewable energy and to progressively replace the 600,000 vehicle-postal fleet by alternative fuel vehicles. Through measuring performance in this area, posts are actively contributing to the aims of UN SDG 9 – ‘Industry, innovation and infrastructure.’ 
 
While posts first focused on reducing their CO₂ emissions of last-mile delivery by increasing the number of alternative delivery vehicles, postal attention is now shifting also to long-haul transport. Decarbonising long haul transport will be increasingly crucial to reduce the environmental impact of the sector. Posts are increasingly including electrical vans and trucks in their fleet. Alternative-fuel air freight is also increasingly piloted. Postal efforts also include a more efficient loading and road planning of trucks to reduce the environmental footprint. 76% of An Post’s middle mile fleet fuel was HVO by end July 2025.
 
Posts aim to further reduce the 1.57 million tonnes of scope 2 emissions produced from buildings annually. Growing the share of renewable electricity will be crucial to meeting the postal 2030 targets in reducing the carbon intensity of postal operations. This will also include posts generating their own renewable electricity: Solar Energy is being adopted by some posts, and the rate of adoption is expected to increase in the coming years.