"Green Postal Day": Since 2008, postal companies worldwide have reduced their annual CO2 emissions by 31 million tons

DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer: "Collaboration has been a cornerstone of the global postal industry for more than 150 years. Together, we have established common standards that allow letters and parcels to be exchanged seamlessly across borders. Sharing the same goal, postal operators from 22 countries have succeeded in reducing their annual CO₂ emissions by one third. As an industry, we have already achieved significant progress: much of the 'last mile' is now electrified, around 30% of the electricity used comes from renewable sources (as much as 95% at DHL), and ever more distribution centers are being built with ecological standards in mind. For the industry as a whole and for DHL Group in particular, the next decisive step is to advance the electrification of heavy-duty transport and to make aviation cleaner using modern fleets and sustainable aviation fuels."

The global postal industry's sustainability measures and objectives

Since 2008, postal companies - key players in the global transport and logistics sector - have been working together on sustainability through the introduction of the Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS), followed in 2019 by the Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS). These postal operators have reduced their total annual CO₂ emissions by one third and have pledged to cut emissions by 50% by 2030. 

The sustainable use of resources has long been a priority for the postal sector in its efforts to minimize environmental impact. The industry is focusing on two key areas: ensuring that postal facilities are increasingly run on renewable electricity, and progressively replacing its global fleet of 600,000 vehicles with alternative vehicles powered by cleaner fuels.

In addition, postal operators are working to cut CO₂ emissions in the last mile by expanding the use of delivery vehicles with alternative drive systems. Increasingly, the industry is also focusing on heavy goods transport, where decarbonization is critical to reducing environmental impact. Across the sector, more electric vans and trucks are being added to fleets, while alternative fuels are being tested for air freight. Postal companies are also optimizing truck loading and route planning to further shrink their environmental footprint.

Another key focus is reducing the 1.57 million metric tons of Scope 2 emissions produced annually by postal buildings. Expanding the use of renewable energy will be essential to achieving the industry's 2030 climate targets. A number of postal operators are already making use of solar power, with plans to significantly increase this in the coming years.

Sustainability at DHL Group

DHL Group is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from 40 million metric tons of CO₂e (as of 2021) to less than 29 million by 2030, based on the Science-Based Targets initiative. This will be achieved through various measures, such as gradually increasing the proportion of sustainable fuels (e.g., sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) used across the aircraft fleet or biogas for CNG trucks), further electrification of the delivery and road transport fleet, CO₂-neutral building design, and emission-reduced product offerings.

The company also made great strides last year: in 2024, the DHL Group used 74 kilotons of sustainable aviation fuel across its own fleet. This corresponds to a blending ratio of 3.5% in its aircraft - the highest proportion across all airlines worldwide. This year, the Group has increased the number of electric delivery vehicles to 35,000 in its German mail and parcel business alone, making it the largest e-fleet in Europe. 40,000 specially installed charging stations ensure that 95% of the electricity used for charging is green, and 450 CNG (biogas) trucks are used for road transport between parcel centers. Photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, and building automation are used at 160 newly built delivery depots, and 195 buildings are equipped with photovoltaics - with a technically available output of approximately 22 MWp.

About Green Postal Day

Green Postal Day was established in 2019 by the CEOs of the postal companies participating in the IPC Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS). The aim of this joint campaign is to highlight the environmental and business advantages achieved by the postal industry over the past ten years by cooperating as a sector to reduce CO₂ emissions. Postal operators from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceania are participating.