Austrian Post is not only yellow but also increasingly green

The Austrian Post has the largest electric vehicle fleet in Austria. The electricity for this large fleet is generated through its own photovoltaic systems. In 2011, the Austrian Post began CO2-free deliveries. By 2030, deliveries on the last mile are to be 100 percent emission-free.

(Vienna) On today’s Green Postal Day of the International Post Corporation (IPC), postal companies worldwide remind us that postal services are becoming greener year by year, despite increasing parcel volumes due to e-commerce. As a responsible domestic company, the Austrian Post significantly contributes to improving environmental and climate protection with its sustainable measures. In addition to CO₂-neutral delivery of letters, parcels, advertising mail, and magazines for customers throughout Austria, it has the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country, generating the electricity for the operation of the e-fleet through its own photovoltaic systems. Furthermore, by 2030, the delivery on the last mile is to be 100 percent CO₂-free.

CO2-neutral delivery since 2011

In 2011, the Austrian Post launched the initiative “CO₂ NEUTRAL DELIVERED” to gradually reduce the company’s CO₂ footprint. This has been successful: CO₂ emissions were reduced from 100,000 tons of CO₂ in 2009 to around 76,946 in 2019. Energy efficiency measures are implemented in internal processes, and investments are made in alternative environmental technologies. The measures are audited annually by TÜV Austria. And: Customers of the Post incur no additional costs due to these ecological measures. Between 1913 and 1985, the Austrian Post already used electric vehicles. After the last vehicles were retired, a restart of e-mobility was initiated in 2012. The Post now has over 1,750 electric vehicles, making it a pioneer in green logistics. By the end of 2020, this number will even reach nearly 2,100. New electric vehicles will gradually replace conventional ones, and by 2030, as part of the “Electric Vehicle 100” initiative, which the Post commits to, the delivery on the last mile will be 100 percent “green”.

Five existing photovoltaic systems

Through five photovoltaic systems at logistics centers in Allhaming, Hagenbrunn, Vienna-Inzersdorf, and Kalsdorf, as well as a delivery base in 1220 Vienna, the Post generates around 2.5 MWPeak of clean energy annually, which can supply the entire electric vehicle fleet. Further systems are in planning, as the ambitious eco-agenda of the Post includes doubling the existing photovoltaic systems. The electricity that the Post cannot generate itself has been purchased exclusively from sustainable energy sources in Austria for several years.

Green state capitals and surroundings

The main areas of deployment for electric vehicles are currently urban areas, especially Vienna. 182 electric vehicles ensure that in Vienna, the delivery of letters and advertising mail to private customers occurs 99 percent with electric vehicles or vehicles with alternative drives. This helps avoid global CO₂ emissions as well as local pollutant emissions and noise pollution, thereby further enhancing the quality of life in the city. Letter delivery in Eisenstadt is already entirely done using electric vehicles. In St. Pölten, Innsbruck, and Wiener Neustadt, over 90 percent of deliveries are already “green”; the other state capitals are on the best path to achieving this. In Graz, as the first state capital in Austria, CO₂-free delivery will take place on the entire last mile, including parcels, by 2021. There, 225 electric vehicles will be in use. Since 2018, the Post has intensified the use of electric vehicles in rural areas as well. As the range of vehicles continues to improve, broader deployment possibilities arise. This allows for even more CO₂ savings and helps avoid pollutant and noise pollution even outside urban areas.

Member of the UN Global Compact

Since 2007, the Post has also been a member of the UN Global Compact and aligns its goals and activities with its principles regarding human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption. The Austrian Post also commits to the United Nations’ sustainability goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been valid since January 2017, and has integrated them into its sustainability strategy. From a capital market perspective, the Post acts sustainably as well. This is evidenced by the many excellent ratings in the areas of Environment, Social, and Governance. With its accession to the “Science Based Targets” initiative in 2016, the Post took another step forward by committing to contribute to the global climate goal of the Paris Agreement and to reduce CO₂ emissions by 14 percent by 2025.

Photo: © Austrian Post
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