IPC welcomes three new posts as members of the SMMS programme

Cyprus Post, Iceland Post and Malta Post are the latest postal operators to join International Post Corporation’s (IPC) Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS) programme, which aims at managing sustainability and reducing the collective carbon footprint of the postal industry. 

Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC said: “We are delighted to welcome three new posts as members of the SMMS programme, demonstrating their commitment towards sustainability and the value of working together as a sector in order to make a difference for the planet.”

Pavlos Pavlides, Deputy Director, Cyprus Post, said: “Cyprus Post works for a Green future, we owe it to the generations to come”.

Þórhildur Ólöf Helgadóttir, CEO of Iceland Post said: “Participation in the programme is a necessary next step in our sustainability journey. We want to learn from other postal companies and see the program as a powerful tool to discipline sustainability disclosure and sharpen our focus. We are convinced that together we will achieve better results and make a difference.”

Joe Gafa, CEO, MaltaPost p.l.c., said: “Today we live in a world where the increased awareness on environmental protection and social responsibilities are on top of the agenda of many businesses, including an ever-increasing number of Postal Operators. In line with our responsibilities towards the communities we operate in, MaltaPost p.l.c. joined other Postal Operators in the IPC’s SMMS programme to assist us in our journey towards improving our sustainability performance with the endeavour to reach desired targets”.

By joining the SMMS programme, Cyprus Post, Iceland Post and Malta Post will be assessed in terms of both qualitative (Sustainability Management Proficiency) and quantitative elements (Sustainability Performance Indicators). The first dataset to be collected will be for 2022 and will be reported in 2023.

Each new participating post will benefit from a common third-party audited sustainability measurement and reporting system, including for carbon emissions. Through best practice sharing at numerous events, workshops and webinars, participating posts learn from each other and continue to make improvements. The programme provides a benchmark against which posts can measure progress and strategies in comparison to other leading postal operators, including insights into how to improve sustainability performance.

Through the IPC SMMS programme, posts across the world have committed to halving their yearly collective CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. To meet this goal, posts will focus mainly on their own emissions generated by buildings and transportation, which respectively account for 44% and 56% of their total emissions. By 2030, posts collectively aim to have 50% of their fleet as alternative fuel vehicles, of which 25% of electric vehicles and 75% of their energy consumed, generated from renewable sources.

Cyprus Post, Iceland Post and Malta join the 23 current full members and 5 posts who joined the SMMS as a pilot programme through an agreement between IPC and the Kahala Posts Group.

As of July 2023, the programme consists of 31 participants from five continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and America. These include: An Post (Ireland), Australia Post (Australia), Austrian Post (Austria), bpost (Belgium), Canada Post (Canada), Correos (Spain), CTT Portugal Post (Portugal), Cyprus Post (Cyprus), DHL Group (Germany), Hongkong Post (Hong Kong), Hrvatska Posta (Croatia), Iceland Post (Iceland), Japan Post (Japan), Korea Post (Korea), Le Groupe La Poste (France), Malta Post (Malta), New Zealand Post Group (New Zealand), Omniva (Estonia), Pos Malaysia (Malaysia), POST Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Poste Italiane (Italy), Posten Norge (Norway), Posti (Finland), PostNL (The Netherlands), PostNord (Denmark & Sweden), Royal Mail Group Plc (United Kingdom), South African Post Office (South Africa), Swiss Post (Switzerland), Thailand Post (Thailand), United States Postal Service (United States).

The SMMS expands on the 2009-2019 Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS), a global initiative launched in 2008 in response to stakeholder and postal CEO requests for the postal sector to minimise its carbon footprint and improve its carbon management. The SMMS broadens the scope of the programme to the seven sustainability focus areas most relevant for the postal sector: Health and safety; Learning and development; Resource efficiency; Climate change; Air quality; Circular economy and Sustainable procurement.