PostNL, The Hague-based postal and package service, announced that it will spend around €80M in 2022-24 to make its business operations more sustainable. This includes replacing diesel with alternative fuels, transport electrification, EV charging infrastructure, and solar panels.
The Dutch company is also looking to deliver all parcels and letters in the Benelux region emission-free in the last mile by 2030.
Creating a sustainable and efficient network
As of now, about 20 per cent of all parcels and letters are delivered with zero emissions in the last mile. In case of mail, delivery is carried out either by foot or bicycle, claims the company.
The company also claims that the sorting of mail and parcels that take place in buildings are fully sustainable since 50 percent of all electricity required by the parcel sorting centers is generated using 25,000 solar panels. The remaining energy needs are met by renewable power purchases.
CEO Herna Verhagen said: ”As a major logistics company, we want and are able to make a key contribution to achieving domestic and global sustainability goals. Customers and consumers can expect PostNL, as their favourite deliverer in the Benelux region, to lead on this issue and we’ve already achieved a great deal in making our activities sustainable. To meet our targets, we’re stepping up our investment and are engaging closely with our partners, suppliers, our sector, and governments. We’re determined to strengthen our position at the vanguard of sustainability in the logistics sector.”
Alternative fuels
The company also replaced diesel with alternative fuels like HVO100 and biogas for its 300 vans and 100 trucks. Another 100 trucks are partially fuelled by Bio-LNG, claims the company.
PostNL already has around 1,300 large and small electric vehicles. Around 30 per cent of PostNL’s large transport vehicles are running on alternative power.
To achieve its sustainability goals, PostNL is working closely with partners, including the logistics sector and network suppliers, on much-needed developments in infrastructure and alternative fuels.
PostNL: What you need to know
PostNL is the Netherlands’ largest company providing postal and package services. The postal service delivers an average of 1.1M parcels and 8.1M letters across the Benelux region on weekdays.
PostNL NV is a listed company with revenues of €3.3B in 2020. 63 per cent of this is derived from e-commerce.
Besides delivering mail and parcels, the company also provides logistics solutions for e-commerce and cross-border solutions.
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