Posts Across The Globe Go Green
Published in April, 2014 issue of
Bhartiya Post
By : Bruhaspati Samal
Secretary, AIPEU, Group-C,
Bhubaneswar Division
When the whole earth is facing the
fatal effects of Global Warming and Climate Change due to natural causes like
dust particles, marsh gases, volcanic eruptions and ultra violet radiations and
human activities like deforestation,
consumption of fossil fuels, new forms of land use and agriculture, emission of
aerosols and toxic gases from automobiles and industries resulting increase in sea
level, rising ecological imbalances, increasing deforestation, frequent floods,
rise in vector-borne deceases and above all increase in greenhouse gas
emissions, not only individual efforts but Government and Non-Government
Organizations, scientists and environmentalists all over the world are gearing
up several activities to meet the challenges.
Amongst various activities, celebration of Earth Day on 22nd
April and World Environment Day on 5th
June every year are considered very important.
As the 44th Anniversary of
Earth Day approaches, people around the world are taking various steps toward
protecting and preserving the environment. Like Earth Days of the past, Earth
Day 2014 will focus on the unique environmental challenges of our time. As the
world’s population migrates to cities, and as the bleak reality of climate
change becomes increasingly clear, the need to create sustainable communities
is more important than ever. Earth Day 2014 will seek to do just that through
its global theme: Green Cities. With smart investments in sustainable
technology, forward-thinking public policy, and an educated and active public,
we can transform our cities and forge a sustainable future. Nothing is more
powerful than the collective action of a billion people. The UN General Assembly declared 2014 as the
International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). World Environment
Day (WED) 2014 will be celebrated under the theme of SIDS, with the goal of
raising awareness of their unique development challenges and successes
regarding a range of environmental problems, including climate change, waste
management, unsustainable consumption, degradation of natural resources, and
extreme natural disasters.
While worldwide efforts are on move to
protect and improve nature and stabilize emission of greenhouse gases, postal
departments from across the globe are adopting best practices for minimizing
their carbon footprint. Here are some examples how Posts around the world are
going green to save the earth.
India Post, the world’s largest postal
network having 154822 outlets has already introduced electronic solar rickshaws
for postmen in India. The eco-friendly solar rickshaws are prepared by the
scientists of Indian government
with collaboration of IT research department and named as ‘green vehicle’. The
Department, in the meantime has completed a pilot project of installing solar
Power Packs in 7 postal circles.
Let’s discuss a selection of best
practices from across the globe on greening the Post. While some postal
operators are already aware of the importance of minimizing their carbon
footprint, others are forging ahead with success.
To reduce the emission of carbon
dioxide, postal operators in Germany (Deutsche Post DHL), Brazil ( Brazilian
Post ), Finland ( Itella ), Tanzania ( Tanzania Post ), Hungary ( Magyar Posta
) and Slovenia ( Slovenia Post) are
using either green electricity or hydro power / solar / geothermal energy and often
opting for renewable energy sources. While solar collector system in Magyar
Posta has cut energy consumption by 36.7 % and CO2 emissions by 13%,
Itella has been able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 15%. While 25%
of energy consumption in Slovenia Post comes from renewable resources all of the electricity bought and
consumed by the Brazilian Post comes from hydropower plants. For last 10
years, many post offices under Tanzania
Post have been using solar energy
for lighting, running of computers and fax machines. Correos de El Salvador has changed 75 per
cent of its incandescent tubes from 40W to 21W to reduce consumption of
electricity in its buildings. Deutsche
Post DHL has acquired 288 energy-efficient sorting machines which will reduce
the operator’s carbon emissions by nearly 5000 tonnes per year. DHL's sites and
mail processing centres are certified ISO 14001 which guarantees that the
environment is respected in the daily management of the buildings. TNT opened
its first CO2 emission-free depot in 2009. The adoption of
sustainable solutions within this building has resulted in energy savings of
more than 70%. The building is designed to allow in as much daylight as
possible, reducing the amount of artificial light required, and produces its own
energy through more than 300 solar panels.
Postal
operators like USPS ( United
States of America ), Liban Post ( Lebanon ), Swiss Post (Switzerland),
JP Post
( Japan ), New Zealand Post ( New Zealand ), Maldives Post ( Maldives ),
Philpost
( Philippines), BPost ( Belgium ), La Poste (France), Mauritius Post
and Korea Post (Korea) etc. have already
prioritized waste recycling and are offering carbon-neutral GOGREEN
products
. All departments at Liban Post
headquarters are equipped with recycling
bins to collect recyclable materials and people being more conscious of
the recycling efforts and doing their
share in terms of reducing waste,
reusing paper and printing less, waste has fallen by 25-35% in Liban
Post.
Japan Post, La Poste and USPS are acting as hubs for waste collection.
In 2009,
1.3 million used up ink cartridges were collected by Japan Post and sent
back
for recycling. In USPS Post Offices, customers can obtain free mail-back
envelops for recycling inkjet
cartridges, mobile phones, digital cameras and other similar small
electronic
items. In 2009, about 69000 kg of materials were recycled through the
mail-back
envelops by USPS. Maldives Post has been
printing internal documents on the backside of discarded A4 sheets
already used
for one-sided printing. Replacing cardboard boxes, Japan Post is using a
returnable packing box that can be used up to 100 times as a result
of which total
cost has been cut by 30-40% and CO2 generated through the process of
making and disposing of cardboard boxes has been reduced by 70%.Supplying
“Cradle to Cradle” certified packaging in services, USPS has ensured that a product is designed with
materials that are safe for humans and
the environment. Itella (Finland) aims to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions
by 30% by 2020 by improving its energy efficiency and using renewable energy
sources with lower emissions in all of its operations and by offering customers carbon-neutral
products by means of a carbon-offsetting scheme.
Many postal operators are also raising
staff awareness and adopting campaigns for public awareness of environmental
issues.”Let our beach smile” is an annual campaign designed by Morrocco Post to
offer visitors clean and healthy beaches suitable for recreational activities and
water sports. At Cambodia Post, awareness raising stickers are displayed in
offices and toilets. In Seychelles Post, all staff are informed through office
memos, flyers and posters of the need to save water and electricity. Circulars
and newsletters are issued on a quarterly basis to raise staff awareness of the
importance of reducing energy and water consumption. Vietnam Post takes part in
Earth Hour and Environment Day campaign. TNT launched its "Planet Me"
programme in 2007 to raise awareness of climate change and serve as a framework
to reduce CO2 emissions. United States Postal Service employees
participate in cross-functional 'Lean Green Teams', helping the USPS reduce
energy and material consumption and waste emissions. This led to savings of
more than 5 million USD in 2010. The teams also helped USPS recycle more than
222,000 tonnes of material, which generated 13 million USD in revenue, and
saved an additional 9.1 million USD in landfill fees. USPS formed a Green
Purchasing Team. The team has actively worked to educate and inform customers
and suppliers about the operator's Green Purchasing Plan. In 2008, USPS spent
more than 251 million USD on environmentally preferable products, including
remanufactured automobile parts, retread tyres, recycled content paper
products, custodial products. BPost ( Belgium) trains its van drivers to drive
ecologically, which allows the operator to save 5–7% on fuel. Since 2009,
Magyar Posta (Hungary )
has organized a "Green Day" conference in the field of logistics each
year. During these conferences, participants can listen to talks on
environmental protection and vehicle operations and on the closing day of the
conference an eco-driving contest is held.
A trained driver who uses an environmentally friendly driving
style may reduce the fuel consumption of the vehicle by as much as 5–10%,
translating into a reduction in emissions.
Several other important practices have
also been adopted by the postal operators world-wide to make the posts green.
At Korea Post, uniforms for mail carriers are made from recycled PET bottles.
To have a significant reduction in water
consumption, Philpost is in the process of replacing tank-filled valve flushing
mechanisms in its toilets with more water-efficient toilets, and also introducing
new taps that turn off automatically when a certain amount has been consumedTanzania
Post now carries out regular emission checks and servicing of its fleet. Royal
Mail has set a target of reducing transport-related CO2 emissions by
20%. Use of double
decker trailers has facilitated Royal Mail to carry 50% more mail in one
vehicle reducing its annual mileage by
7.6 million miles, saving 7,000 tonnes of CO2. New Zealand Post has a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 12%
between 2008 and 2012. Slovenska Posta was awarded the ISO 14001 Environment
Management Certificate in 2005 for its implementation and use of an environment
management system. Liban Post uses small-engined motorcycles,
instead of cars or vans, for mail distribution since small vehicles emit less
polluting gases. VNPT (Viet Nam Post)
sets fuel consumption limits for transport and electric generators. Correos (Uruguay) has followed an
energy savings plan based on government directives since 2005. The plan for the
head office and sorting plant calls for the almost complete replacement of
incandescent and mercury vapour bulbs with low-energy bulbs. Centralizing its
delivery service, reducing number of delivery offices and reducing number of
routes, Mauritius Post has achieved a decrease in the mileage covered by postal
vehicles and reduced fuel consumption and thus
there has been a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions from its
fleet. In April 2009, Norway Post's major road transport route
between Oslo and Bergen became fully rail-based. As a result, a total of 1,250
trucks have been replaced by rail.La
Poste (France) and USPS have added
electric to their mail and parcel delivery fleet. La Poste (France)
has slashed its fuel consumption, cut its CO2 emissions by 8% on
average, and given 60,000 postmen and women eco-driving lessons, which. among
others, have reduced the number of road accidents involving postal vehicles. A USPS building in New York has been
developed with a "green roof". It reduces the amount of polluted
storm water runoff into the New York municipal water system by as much as 75%
in the summer and 40% in the winter. The green roof is more energy-efficient
than a traditional roof and is projected to save the operator 30,000 USD on
annual heating and cooling costs.
Post Denmark has a tool for optimizing
route planning in the countryside and in towns which limits the number of
kilometres driven according to pre-specified estimates. In 2009, Canada Post registered three new building projects for
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is an internationally accepted benchmark
for the design, construction and operation of high-performance and
environment-conscious buildings.
Building to LEED Canada criteria helps Canada Post reduce GHG emissions,
lower overall energy costs, and reduce its impact on the environment. It also
benefits its employees and its customers by providing safer and healthier
workplaces. Togo Post is looking to operate solely on solar energy. Magya Posta has used solar energy in its
national logistics centre since the end of 2008 which has cut energy
consumption by 36.7% and CO2 emissions by 13%. In 2009, Magyar Posta saved
about 20,000 kWh by using solar energy. Plastic re-usable envelopes, which can
be used at least 15 times are being used by Liban Post, with a positive impact
in environmental and budgetary terms. Swiss Post enables letters, parcels and
goods to be mailed on a carbon-neutral basis through its "Pro clima"
scheme.
Since July 2009, Australia Post has
stopped providing plastic bags for its customers. People are encouraged to use
their own reusable bags and most post offices sell environmentally-friendly
reusable bags. There has been a reduction
in the Uruguayan postal operator's use of nylon bags. In 2008, it decided to
implement a policy to phase out the use of nylon bags in making up items to be
sent to business customers.
Thus, in this context, it can be
said that Global Warming which has been building momentum for about 150 years
can’t stop within a day. Nobel laureate Al Gore has rightly said , “It will be
hard. Not rising to the challenge would be much harder. Still I believe that we
should see the opportunity, rise to meet it and keep our sights on the
obligation that we have for those who come after so that a thousand years from
now people will say they are the ones
who did it.” Finally, it would be apt to
quote Leo Tolstoy, “Everyone things of changing the world but no one is
thinking of changing himself.” Thus, the need of the hour is to change ourselves
and rise to the occasion to focus towards a sustainable development for solving
the pace of Global warming and who
knows, we may not only save the planet, but live long enough, perhaps for some
future generations to thank us.
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