Message from our CEO
“This report is essential: it outlines clearly our commitments, and is an honest appraisal of the things we’ve done. It enumerates and details An Post living to its purpose to “act for the common good, now, and for generations to come” – David McRedmond , An Post CEO
It was supposed to be the great reawakening from the pandemic, but perhaps 2022 could be best described as a tentative step into a normalised world. Efforts to reignite and accelerate action to drive sustainability were hard yards, and I commend Nicola Woods, An Post’s Chief Transformation Officer, and the Sustainability Forum at An Post for real progress:
- Emissions were reduced by 12% vs 2021.
- An Post was ranked third most sustainable postal service in the world by the International Postal Corporation’s sustainability index.
- We maintained a zero gender pay gap.
- We were named as Ireland’s most reputable company in the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study.
Living the UN Sustainable Development Goals has been An Post’s commitment for a number of years now, and the framework continues to structure our actions. Decent Work is at the heart of all we do: the guarantee of good work, with reasonable terms and conditions, backed up with a strong pension fund, ensures that An Post’s employees can fully partake in everyday life in every community across Ireland. Our focus now extends to ensuring real diversity, reflecting a changing Ireland, to match the achievement of closing the gender pay gap. Ethnicity and disability representation are to the forefront. But our purpose is about our communities more than ourselves. Free parcel post to Ukraine has seen the country become the third largest destination from Ireland for parcels. And we collected over €2.1m in charitable donations for Ukraine and for the victims of the tragic explosion in Creeslough Co Donegal.
An Post’s presence, with a Post Office in every community over 500 people, was strengthened by a landmark deal between Government and Postmasters, recognising how vital a service An Post provides. Agency banking “Your bank is in your Post Office” is the most obvious commitment to rural Ireland, as of our 911 Post Offices over 400 are located in communities with no bank.
The delivery service, which did so much during the pandemic to keep Ireland trading, is also a vital link for every household and business with the world. It is possible to live anywhere in Ireland and have the same access to goods as in central London or New York. It remains therefore a massive challenge for An Post to achieve its target of 50% emissions’ reduction from our own operations by end-2025, and net-zero by end-2030.
The development of new technology, greater use of digital data, and a drive for efficiency will be the focus to achieve our emissions’ target. The Circular Economy is a particularly tough challenge as we work with supply chains to minimise the negative impacts on sustainability of the e-commerce industry.
So this report is essential: it outlines clearly our commitments, and is an honest appraisal of the things we’ve done. It enumerates and details An Post living to its purpose to “act for the common good, now, and for generations to come”.