In addition to featuring new initiatives undertaken by the company, the report highlights a multitude of achievements covering a wide range of sustainability issues, among them:

- Developing Human Capital: Aramex’s workforce has grown to comprise 81 nationalities in 46 countries, with women occupying 15% of management positions. Aramex also continued investing in its main areas of priority - education and youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, community development, sports, emergency relief, and the environment through working hand in hand with organisations such as Injaz Al Arab, Future Generation Foundation (FGF) and Ruwwad.

- Stakeholder Engagement: expanding outreach through new interactive channels including a new website (aramex.org), social media presence, and enhanced internal communication tools.

- Environmental Preservation: migrating 78% of fleet to low emission vehicles, reducing fuel consumption by 21%, and converting all Aramex vehicles to unleaded fuel.

- Quality and Safety: acquiring ISO14001 and OHSAS1800 certifications, in eight and eleven Aramex locations, respectively.

Fadi Ghandour, Aramex founder and CEO, said: “We are pleased to share this 2009 report, as part of our ongoing exercise in reporting on our practices, measuring our economic, environmental, and social performance and continuously learning along the way. As of next year, we are shifting into integrated reporting, further highlighting the inseparable role of sustainability in our operations, performance, and strategic direction.”

Aramex 2009 Sustainability Report can be accessed at www.aramex.org

With its battery-electric drive, the Vito E-CELL offers the possibility to reduce CO₂ emissions, pollutants and noise significantly in the future. The joint pilot project of Mercedes-Benz forms a part of the company’s environmental programme, GoGreen.

“Even today, we are able to test the reliability of the Vito E-CELL vans in our mail and parcel delivery service under realistic everyday conditions, thereby helping to ensure that the vehicles will reach market maturity in the medium term and can be manufactured economically,” said Joachim Wessels, member of Deutsche Post DHL’s Mail Divisional Board.

The vans drive with battery-electric drives and will be used in the mail delivery service. The day-to-day testing in Berlin and Stuttgart will also be supported by the “Electric Mobility for Economic Transport” programme funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety as well as the “Electric Mobility in Pilot Regions” Program funded by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development.

The Vito E-CELL meets the technical requirements with regard to range and payload in mail delivery operations and can be used flexibly in a large number of areas. The operational profile involving a great deal of stop-start traffic and a low daily mileage is the ideal scenario for taking advantage of the benefits of electric drives and for checking the vehicles’ capability in operational use. The almost complete lack of local emissions will help reduce air and noise pollution levels in inner city areas. Jointly with Mercedes-Benz, the consumption and range will be measured and checked on an ongoing basis in order to promote the further development of electric drives in light commercial vehicles.

The 15 vehicles will be delivered by the end of 2010 and will be fully integrated into operations for a duration of four years. The testing will focus on the performance of the battery technology, the charging behavior and the associated charging infrastructure. The aim is also to reduce the cost of electric drives, which is still very high, and to facilitate their commercial use.

Around the world, approximately 2,500 vehicles with hybrid drives, electric motors and alternative fuels are already in use on behalf of Deutsche Post DHL.

“In the event of a natural disaster, efficient logistics is an important factor to support those who are affected. I am glad, that we could do our share and transport essential goods to people in need in the areas hit by the devastating fires,” said Rainer Wend, executive vice president, Public Policy and Responsibility.

The first DHL truck with humanitarian supplies left Saint Petersburg last month heading South and East of Moscow to the cities of Ryazan, Nizhniy Novgorod and Voronezh.

DHL also transported respiratory systems from Samara to Saransk South of Moscow and further humanitarian aid to the city of Vladimir East of the capital. Overall, DHL participated in the delivery of 40 tons of clothes, food household goods and sanitary items.

After a brief assessment mission, DHL deployed an initial team of four logistics experts of its Disaster Response Team (DRT) to Islamabad on 25 August. On basis of a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Disaster Management Authority, the team has started to set up a provisional warehouse and will help with the logistical handling of relief goods at the military part of Islamabad airport.

The DRT will work free of charge and in close cooperation with the UN, in particular with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Both, incoming goods of the World Food Programme as well as bilateral contributions from governments to Islamabad airport will be handled by the DHL Disaster Response Team on the ground.

Due to the slow onset of the disaster the Disaster Response Team is expected to stay up to three weeks on the ground. Throughout this time a total of 20 to 25 DHL employees from different business divisions is expected to help unload and pallet goods for further distribution. The teams will alternate on a weekly basis, working with 4-5 team members at a time.

Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL said: “The situation in Pakistan is very serious and we hope we can support the ongoing relief efforts with our Disaster Response teams professionally as usual.”

Chris Weeks, head of Humanitarian Affairs added: “Millions of people are affected by the water and are in particular need for food, tents and tarpaulins. We have set up basic logistics at the airport in order to facilitate the further transport of the goods over the next couple of weeks. “The amount of people being cut off by the floods is estimated to be 800,000 by the UN, with a total of 17m people directly affected and 1.2m homes destroyed. The delivery of goods to those stranded in remote areas as well as to displaced people is the biggest task over the next couple of days.”

“Last year, the Postal Service recycled more than 220,000 tons of paper, plastics and other waste, which avoided more than 700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Deborah Giannoni-Jackson, vice president, Employee Resource Management. “Lobby recycling is an important part of the Postal Service’s conservation efforts, because it helps divert paper waste from landfills and helps our bottom line, making us greener and smarter.”

Customers can recycle their P.O. Box mail as an easy, planet-friendly alternative to taking it home to discard. Recycling containers are locked and feature a narrow opening - about the width of a magazine, so the mail, and customer privacy, is ensured.

“Our history of environmental efforts goes back more than 100 years when the Postal Service was recycling before there was even a universal symbol for it,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “It’s our goal to make every letter and package a greener experience, and lobby recycling is a great way to be green by recycling discarded P.O. Box mail right at the Post Office.”

DHL Express Easy is available at all DHL Service Point outlets, including those found at NTUC FairPrice Xpress, Cheers outlets island-wide, TANGS stores located on Orchard Road and in VivoCity, NUS Co-op outlets, and DHL’s own premises around the island. With this coverage, DHL Express Easy is truly accessible 24/7.

The DHL Express Easy comes in a range of weight options from a 500g envelope to a 25kg box, catering especially to walk-in customers and small-and-medium businesses. The DHL branded double-corrugated cardboard boxes are provided free of charge to all customers at the DHL Service Point outlets. Made from recycled material, the packaging range is more environmentally-friendly and supports the GOGREEN environmental protection strategy of DHL Express.

Roland Thomas, vice president global products at DHL Express, said: “This versatile packaging range really does satisfy the majority of our customers’ shipping needs. We can manage any parcel from 500g to 25kg, cater to a variety of shapes, and with our patented pallet box available at selected outlets, we can increase the weight range to 100kg.”

Each box used for shipping DHL Express Easy comes with a defined maximum weight and a simple fixed fee. With this service, walk-in customers can enjoy comparatively lower prices than that of the standard DHL Express Worldwide service. On average, customers can expect to save up to 20% on shipping, depending on the destination and weight of their parcels.

“To reach the milestones of this important project, we need to rely on the knowledge and reliability of our suppliers. DHL Global Forwarding demonstrated that they have the right experience and track record to contribute to the success of the project,” said Greg Miller, project director of Thiess Degrémont, design and construction contractor for the project.

DHL will be involved in the international transportation of all equipment, including customs and Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) clearance in Australia, domestic transportation and cargo tracking.

“DHL will be involved in the entire logistical process; from contacting suppliers, making bookings for transport, picking up goods, transporting goods to Melbourne, arranging customs clearance and delivering goods to site at Wonthaggi, 90 minutes south-east of Melbourne,” said Tony Boll, CEO - South Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding.

When finished, the plant will provide a rain independent potable water source for the State of Victoria that is capable of supplying up to one third of Melbourne’s annual water needs.

The desalination plant will be located in Wonthaggi on the Bass Coast. The $3.5bn project is on schedule for completion by the end of December 2011.

“Our automotive efficiencies over the last decade show a genuine commitment to conserving fuel and decreasing the emissions associated with the packages we deliver,” said Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president and the executive responsible for UPS’s sustainability programme. “This new goal for the next decade is an important milestone in UPS’s continuing dedication to finding and using new technology and processes that help us meet our customers’ needs in a sustainable way.”

For example in 2009, UPS drivers logged 77.3m more miles than in 2000, yet fuel consumption decreased by 3.2m gallons. Fuel efficiency levels were improved through improved vehicle technology, effective vehicle maintenance procedures, fuel conservation efforts, sophisticated routing technology and operational initiatives such as minimising engine idling. Alternative fuel technology and vehicle deployments also improve UPS’s fuel efficiency.

The automotive goal complements UPS’s announcement last year that it will improve the carbon efficiency (CO2/ATM) of its airline by an additional 20% by 2020, for a cumulative reduction of 42% since 1990. The airline represents 53% of the company’s global carbon footprint.

Also in the new Sustainability Report, UPS announced its 2009 achievements and objectives:

Community

• UPS maintained generous charitable giving, totaling $97.6m despite a difficult economic year.
• The UPS Foundation expanded its focus on urgent humanitarian aid and disaster relief by providing financial support, in-kind transportation and logistics expertise.
• The company launched UPS Road Code, a safe-driving programme for teenagers through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Marketplace

• UPS became the first major global package carrier to offer a carbon neutral service for deliveries in the US.
• Supplier diversity remained strong with nearly $1.6bn spent with small and diverse businesses.

Environmental

• UPS deployed 245 new “green” vehicles running on compressed natural gas, adding to a fleet of nearly 2,000 alternative fuel vehicles.
• With 10 other members of the Air Transportation Association of America, UPS signed a memorandum of understanding with two potential aviation biofuel developers in 2009.
• UPS began reporting in greater detail on greenhouse gas emissions, including providing information on global CO2e emissions for Scope 1 and 2 for the first time and capturing and reporting more Scope 3 data from more sources.

The new report also outlines the company’s continued efforts to be increasingly transparent and accountable, using hard data to guide the company in setting tougher goals and increasing third-party engagement to enhance credibility. For the first time, the UPS Sustainability Report has been assured by Deloitte & Touche LLP and checked by the Global Reporting Initiative.

The green roof, atop the Morgan mail processing facility, covers 109,000 square feet, or nearly 2.5 acres. During construction, approximately 90% of the original roof was recycled and reused on the new roof.

The green roof is the largest in New York City, and is one of the Postal Service’s largest environmental projects to date. It will last 50 years, twice as long as the roof it replaced, and is part of the Postal Service’s greener facilities strategy.

“A year ago, the Postal Service projected the green roof would help the Morgan facility save $30,000 in annual energy expenses,” said Tom Samra, vice president, Facilities. “We’re pleased to have surpassed that goal, saving more than $1m since the implementation of the green roof and other energy-saving measures at Morgan.”

The Postal Service also projected the green roof would help reduce polluted storm water runoff 75% in summer and 40% in winter. According to Samra, the Morgan facility is on track to meet those goals, and is taking steps to monitor additional building performance measures including water quality, bio-diversity and urban heat island effect.

Samra attributes the accelerated rate of savings to a 40% per month reduction in energy use and an average decrease in energy expenses of 15% since the green roof’s opening. The Morgan facility replaced 1600 windows, deployed other energy-saving enhancements, and is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and High Performance and Sustainable Building (HPSB) certifications.

Current LEED-certified postal facilities include Post Offices in Denver, CO, and Southampton, NY; and mail processing centers in Greenville, SC, and Troy, MI. Across its 33,000 postal-owned facilities, the Postal Service is making great strides reducing energy use as it implements energy-saving projects across its inventory - impacting up to a total of 287m square feet.

In 2009, the Postal Service implemented its Enterprise Energy Management System (EEMS) which allows the Postal Service to monitor, manage and measure facility energy data and performance. Matched with a ‘culture of conservation’ among postal employees, EEMS has helped validate the Postal Service’s decrease in energy use by 10.8 trillion British thermal units (Btus) since 2005, and avoid more than $400m in energy costs since 2007.

“We’re working greener every day,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “Our total energy use is down and to date, the Postal Service has reduced facility energy intensity by more than 21% based on a 2003 baseline, well ahead of the federal goal of 12%.”

As part of this project, EMS is proposing energy conservation measures for the two properties through energy modelling simulations that will be used to predict and improve energy efficiencies. EMS has also assessed that the potential cost impact of implementing LEED for the building will not exceed 2.8% of total project cost.

The LEED Green Building Rating System, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. As a target, a silver LEED certification would signify that both Aramex buildings have met a series of criteria for green buildings. The major environmental categories of review include sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources and indoor environmental quality.

Khaled Bushnaq, CEO of EMS, said: “Green buildings provide long term cost benefits for companies and their employees, by reducing energy and water consumption and providing a sustainable work environment. Taking the green route definitely makes sound business sense for Aramex.”

Raji Hattar, chief sustainability & compliance officer, Aramex, said: “Achieving environmental sustainability in our business operations is an integral part of Aramex’s corporate creed. It is imperative, therefore, that both our new properties be LEED certified. Our partnership with EMS, the regional pioneer in energy management solutions, underlines our commitment to not only mitigating negative environmental impacts but also reducing our business costs.”

DHL and Volvo are partnering on a number of initiatives aiming at reshaping the logistics of the future by making it cleaner, safer and more efficient.

DHL and Volvo agreed to partner for trialling the vehicle for a two-year period. The partnership arose from a mutual interest in the development of new energy-efficient technologies and has seen DHL work closely with Volvo on the specifications of the vehicle. It will also benefit from a dry freight ‘Teardrop’ body fitted by body builder DON-BUR.

The vehicle was just unveiled in Hatfield, UK, and will initially be operated in and around London. Overall, the truck will be used with several DHL customers, also interested in reducing their CO2 emissions, like NHS Supply Chain.

Ian MacAulay, innovation manager, UK Fleet Engineering Services, DHL Supply Chain, said: “Reducing carbon emissions is an important issue facing businesses and we always endeavour to make sure we drive positive environmental change. DHL has made a firm commitment to improve its carbon efficiency by 30 per cent by 2020, and new developments in vehicle technology and fuels will be vital in achieving the target.

“This hybrid solution is a world first for 18-tonne distribution vehicles. Energy efficient vehicles also have the benefit of reducing costs and in a time when businesses are keen to drive out inefficiencies this is an important cost saver to recognise.”

Goran Nyberg, Volvo Group UK and Ireland managing director, said: “DHL has ambitious environmental targets and we are pleased to be the selected partner to assist them develop new ways of reducing the carbon footprint of transport.”

This online platform will share critical data about resource allocation, programmatic activities deployed in Haiti and unmet needs. The prototype can be found at http://haitiaidmap.org

“Having recently visited Haiti to see firsthand the state of the recovery efforts, I’m certain this initiative will improve the flow of resources to bolster the recovery effort,” said Shane O’Connor, programme advisor, FedEx Global Citizenship. “The potential this project has to create a prototype that may be replicated to help with relief and recovery efforts around the world is especially promising. FedEx is honoured to play a role in helping make it happen.”

The prototype currently is being tested and shared with the broader humanitarian community in Haiti, including agencies working on recovery efforts with the Government of Haiti. InterAction, BCLC and FedEx believe transparency will be a powerful tool toward greater, more flexible coordination within InterAction members, their partners, the Government of Haiti, the UN-OSE, Interim Haiti Recovery Committee and Haitian civil society. The completed platform is expected by the end of the year.

Ten of the vehicles will be trialled in Ajmer, before a national rollout takes place.

Running on solar batteries, the ‘Soleckshaw’ is pollution-free.

“A recent survey has shown that a postman has to traverse a distance of 40-50 km daily to deliver post and parcel packages weighting up to 10-15 kg,” said the minister of state for communications and IT, Sachin Pilot.

Pilot also mentioned that the new transport will enable easier and timely delivery of posts to remote regions as well.

India Post will be staging PosTech in New Delhi this December.

About 60 employees work at the 600-square metre mail processing centre, where they handle letter-post items, parcels and EMS items (Express Mail Service), the Post’s fastest service.

The facility also provides mail distribution through post boxes and acts as an office of exchange for international mail. All mail coming into Haiti and leaving the country goes through the centre, which houses Customs services.

The January 12 earthquake destroyed Port-au-Prince’s main post office and the building housing the EMS service. Other post offices in outlying areas were also destroyed or severely damaged. Member countries responded to the UPU’s call for assistance and contributed more than $500,000 to a special fund. They also offered human and material resources to help Haiti and its postal operator resume postal services as quickly as possible.

“This building is something concrete, tangible. The UPU kept its word and helped Haiti in its efforts to rebuild. On behalf of the president of the Republic, the government and the Haitian population, I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said minister Josseline Colimon Féthière.

The UPU’s Edouard Dayan said: “The Post, because of its omnipresence and the services it provides to people and businesses, must be a priority in the devastated country’s reconstruction efforts. Within the United Nations, we will continue to highlight the importance of integrating postal services in plans designed to stimulate Haiti’s economy. Haiti needed emergency assistance, and this assistance remains necessary. But today we must look to the future and develop the essential infrastructures the country needs, including postal services.”

The new postal facility, which looks like an enormous tent, is designed to resist winds of up to 225 kilometres an hour and “zone 4″ seismic activity (high risk of damages). For added security, the structure has been solidly anchored at the base.

Mail exchanges between Haiti and the 190 other UPU member countries officially resumed on 11 May. On 3 May, the country had started exchanging mail with France and the United States, when the post office in Delmas, located in the suburbs of the capital, was renovated to resume operations until the new mail processing centre was completed. Daily, Haiti receives an average of 100 mail bags from abroad.

Edvard Despeignes, acting director general of the Haitian Post, is optimistic for the future. “This new mail processing centre is a major step in helping the Haitian Post function more normally,” he said. “Since the resumption of international mail services, volumes have been increasing. Because the earthquake had destroyed the Post’s capacity to process mail at its main postal building, it was important and urgent to create an appropriate space to receive and expedite mail. The Haitian Post is now prepared to return to normal mail flows and anticipate an increase of local and international mail volumes.”

The centre’s equipment was purchased with donations from UPU member countries and the organisation’s normal budget. Some countries also donated sorting cases, work tables, bags, generators and postal vehicles.

The UPU will continue to work with the Haitian Post to strengthen its postal network and modernise its postal services, especially with the introduction of electronic postal money transfers.

FedEx is working closely with Unified Command Wildlife Branch scientists to create a safe and secure transportation solution for the relocation effort. FedEx will take great care to protect the sea turtle nests and eggs, which will travel exclusively in its FedEx Custom Critical air-ride, temperature-controlled vehicles.

“In light of the imminent threat to sea turtles, we felt it was important to help move this extraordinary project forward,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director of NFWF. “Given our strong relationship with FedEx and our long-standing relationship with the federal agencies, we were able to move quickly to develop an effective plan. We’ll continue to work with all parties so that this relocation offers the best hope for sea turtles’ survival.”

The annual list of Canada’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens is compiled by Corporate Knights, an independent company that publishes the world’s largest circulation magazine with an explicit focus on corporate responsibility. Corporate Knights compiles the Best 50 Corporate Citizens list using a ranking methodology that recognises companies concerned with long-term stakeholder value, and those with a true connection to the people and places they employ, affect and serve. Other factors include financial metrics, diversity in corporate leadership, and corporate management of taxes, pensions, labour relations, governance, and environmental and social concerns.

“From ensuring the health and safety of employees to raising money for charities, supporting Canadian communities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, our ultimate goal is to create a sustainable Canada Post that provides value to its customers, its employees and all Canadians,” said Phil Ventura, Canada Post’s senior vice-president of strategy. “We are proud that our corporate citizenship initiatives are being recognised again.”

Canada Post reduced lost-time accidents by 22% and raised $1.6m for mental health in 2009, and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 16% since 1990.

“Canada Post’s relatively strong board diversity, commitment to taking care of its employees through its fully funded pension plan, and strong environmental disclosure helped place it in the 2010 Best 50 Corporate Citizens,” said Toby Heaps, editor, Corporate Knights magazine.

Some of Canada Post’s other recent achievements include:

• Raising $2.4m for United Way.
• Exceeding delivery performance standards and the customer value index target.
• Achieving the highest employee engagement score ever.
• Registering 11 buildings for LEED certification in the last two years, including the new Winnipeg mail processing plant.
• Reducing water consumption at head office by more than 40%.
• Recording a profit for 15 consecutive years
• Being named Most Iconic Brand in Canada by Brand Finance Canada.
• Being selected as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, for the fourth year in a row, and as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, as announced in Maclean’s magazine.

This activity was carried out by Aramex in cooperation with the Princess Alia Foundation, a Jordanian non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting the balance, harmony and respect of all creation.

The first group of employees, including 22 members of staff from the Global Support Office and Amman station, has already been trained in the module. These employees will, in turn, provide training to other Aramex staff based on their learning from this unique programme.

“As the name of this programme suggests, our aim is to create Green Champions across our global workforce,” said Raji Hattar, Aramex chief sustainability officer. “These Green Champions will themselves become ambassadors for Aramex’s diverse sustainability initiatives, training other employees in environmentally friendly practices and contributing to greener and more sustainable communities in all the markets we serve.”

Organised by Triangle Management Services, the World Mail Awards took place on the eve of the World Mail & Express Europe Conference, this year taking place in the Danish capital.

Speaking exclusively to Post&Parcel, media partner at the event, Thijs said:”I am particularly proud and honoured with this award, which actually is a tribute to the great work that has been accomplished by the whole team of De Post - La Poste during the past years. Together, as a team, we have transformed our company, improving the quality of our services, bringing in a culture of customer orientation and increasing the efficiency of our processes. De Post - La Poste is now ready for the full market liberalisation in 2011.

“I sincerely thank Triangle for acknowledging these efforts. The award will encourage me and my colleagues to continuously strive for excellence in our exciting postal business, both in Belgium and on international markets.”

Another big winner on the night was Lebanon national operator, LibanPost, who scooped two awards - for Innovation and Transformation.

Hind Fadel, marketing and business development director at LibanPost, said: “We are double happy and double proud tonight. We are a small and young operator, who has only been in the industry for 12 years, so we are extremely excited to be ranked among world class service operators.

“We have a very strong team which has strived to achieve our goals through a high level of involvement. The World Mail Awards make our efforts worthwhile.”

The winners were presented with their Awards tonight at a ceremony hosted by Danish media personality, Annette Heick. Speaking after the event, Heick said: “It has been a great night. I was surprised at how good the atmosphere was. The mail and express industry is one big happy family. It was fantastic to be a part of it.”

This year’s Awards saw a record number of applications received from all over the world across the 12 Award categories, and the judges deliberated long and hard to cut the shortlist of 38 down to the eventual winners.

The 2010 World Mail Awards winners are:

- Corporate Social Responsibility: Korea Post

- Customer Service - sponsored by DHL Global Mail: 21 Grams

- E-Commerce: Posten Norden

- Growth - sponsored by PostEurop: InPost

- Industry Leadership - sponsored by Pitney Bowes: Johnny Thijs

- Innovation - sponsored by Capgemini: LibanPost

- People Management - sponsored by Australia Post: New Zealand Post

- Quality - sponsored by Magyar Posta: Post Danmark

- Retail Project: Belgian Post

- Security - sponsored by Royal Mail: MaltaPost

- Technology - sponsored by Intermec: Solystic

- Transformation: LibanPost

The new POSTCARDS GOGREEN are made from a renewable material derived from corn, sugarcane and potato starch, and have the same physical format and characteristics as common payment cards.

Gemalto says the material is easily recyclable and biodegradable, and will reduce the global ecological footprint of the smart card production process.

Deutsche Post launched its GOGREEN campaign in 2008 with the goal of reducing the CO2 emissions the company generates for every letter and parcel sent and across all of its operations including subcontracted transportation services.

100,000 of the new cards will be distributed for the initial launch.

TNT is one of PART20’s three founding partners.

During the trials, TNT provided one ’standard’ and one ’streamlined’ truck which had an aerodynamic wing mounted to each side of its trailer to lower air resistance.

In April, the trucks took to the testing grounds in Lelystad (the Netherlands) to assess the benefits of the wings for CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. Three weeks later, TNT sent the trucks to a deserted air base near The Hague where an ‘acoustic camera’ measured the sound production of the passing vehicles by translating them into colours, similar to the images produced by thermal cameras.

The results are now evaluated by TNT’s science partners and will be used for the further improvement of the side wings.

The storm killed more than 100 people and left over tens of thousands losing their homes and seeking rescue in temporary shelters. Due to the volcano eruption, the main airport in Guatemala City had been closed temporarily, with international help only arriving slowly.

After the government called the state of emergency the Local Emergency Management Authority (CONRED) asked for support from the DHL Disaster Response Team (DRT) for Americas on 30 May 2010. A team of 20 DRT volunteers deployed at La Aurora Airport in Guatemala City and start to set up a temporary, professional warehouse, including sorting facilities and making a full inventory of donated goods. Depending on the situation the mission is expected to last for 7-10 days initially.

Rainer Wend, executive vice president public policy and responsibility, said: “It is important that the worst affected areas in Guatemala will receive essential goods such as water, food and aid material as quickly as possible. I am therefore glad that we have been asked by the Guatemalan government to bring in our logistics expertise at the main airport to help manage incoming goods and so make the relief efforts run as quickly as possible.”

Deutsche Post DHL has been nominated for the Corporate Social Responsibility award at the 2010 World Mail Awards, for its GoHelp Disaster Response Teams and GARD programme. For more details click here. The award ceremony takes place on 15 June in Copenhagen.

The new plant is situated on 27 acres of land near the James Armstrong Richardson Airport, replacing the 52-year-old plant in downtown Winnipeg.

The new facility houses a 250,000 square foot mail sorting plant; features 41 dock loading bays; and has 25,000 square feet of office space. When fully operational, the plant will employ 400 people from the region in well-paying, quality jobs.

In addition to housing state-of-the-art technology, the new processing facility is the company’s first plant to be registered a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building. It has been designed with special considerations for employees’ health and safety.

The new Winnipeg plant was built as part of Canada Post’s “Postal Transformation” initiative, a multi-year plan to invest $2bn in new infrastructure, equipment and technology to modernise Canada Post’s operations.

The plan, once fully implemented in 2017, will result in enhanced service for Canadians, a better, more efficient and productive postal service and substantial annual cost savings of approximately $250m per year compared to present levels.

“This mail processing plant is a critical first step to building the Modern Post,” says Rob Merrifield, minister of state (transport) and minister responsible for Canada Post. “The Government of Canada is extremely proud of Canada Post’s continued efforts to strengthen the postal system for people in every part of this country. This new plant is an example of this foresight and vision.”

“This plant is the cornerstone of Canada Post’s overall plan to strengthen its role as a leading transportation and logistics company in Canada,” says Moya Greene, president and chief executive officer for Canada Post. “The Winnipeg plant is a world-class postal facility that will serve as a model for other parts of the overall operation.”

This is New Zealand Post Group’s third year of participation in the CRI, which enables companies to assess and benchmark responsible business practice through ratings across a range measures.

In the latest rating, New Zealand Post Group achieved an overall score of 87% following 68% in 2008.  The movement of almost 20% lifted New Zealand Post Group into the 80-90% score range of the silver category, and was the largest improvement at this level.  The Group achieved an overall score of 51% in its debut year.

The Group lifted its scores across all of the categories that together make up the overall score, and has increased its category star ratings from three to five. It now holds a platinum star rating (over 95%) for corporate strategy, three gold stars (90-95%) for the cross-business integration, social impact and assurance/disclosure measures, and a silver star (80-89%) for management practice.

Group chief executive Brian Roche said a lot of effort was put into the Group’s corporate responsibility programme to continuously improve practices in this area of governance and economic management.

Roche said: “Corporate responsibility to us means responsibility to our customers, employees, the environment and the marketplace in which operate. The CRI lets us measure what we do, make meaningful international comparisons and identify opportunities for improvement, while securing the necessary economic benefits for our business.”

The CRI report noted that New Zealand Post Group had made notable progress in community strategy, environmental impact management and supply chain policy development. “New Zealand Post Group’s leadership is also well demonstrated by a commitment to continual learning and performance improvements in its corporate responsibility practices over the longer term,” Roche said.

These are the first results of the carbon footprint assessment and abatement program which was started by DHL Express in 2008 covering over 1,000 facilities in 27 markets across Asia Pacific. The purpose of the assessment was to measure and reduce DHL Express’ carbon footprint from energy consumption in real estate and its transport fleet.

Within Asia Pacific, India registered one of the best scores for the reduction of CO2 emissions. DHL Express India saw a reduction of 1.7m kilograms of CO2 emissions across close to 150 sites of operations. It reduced its per unit CO2 emissions by 40% year-on-year in ground transport and registered a 24% reduction per unit CO2 emissions in its real estate energy consumption.

Having reduced its per unit Ground Transport Fuel consumption by 6% and improved its per unit CO2 emissions from real estate by 32%, Blue Dart, part of the DHL Group, saw an improvement on CO2 efficiency by 10% year-on-year.

“We are committed to sustainability and have a responsibility to address environmental challenges. Across Asia Pacific, we took steps to reduce our carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency, optimising delivery routes, switching to clear fuels and consolidating facilities in the region. The results of our assessment are a great encouragement - clearly with our commitment to sustainable solutions, we can make a difference,” said John Pearson, CEO, DHL Express, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (APEM).

In India, DHL Express’s internal initiatives included optimizing delivery routes, switching to clean fuels and consolidating facilities in the country. Simple measures went a long way - encouraging staff to switch off the lights in areas which are not in use, adjusting the air conditioning to an optimal setting, phasing out excess printers and photocopiers, auto hibernation of PC monitors, prudent use of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) to optimise the energy consumption and utilisation.

For Blue Dart, the leading domestic air express company, measures undertaken included raising awareness and close monitoring of energy expenditures, route optimisation for its vehicles, introducing fuel-efficient vehicles, initiating lights-off initiatives and reduction in air conditioning usage, re-lamping using energy-efficient light bulbs, re-use of plastic bags, setting two-sided printing as default for all shared printing equipment, and launching an electronic edition of Daily News within the company to reduce usage of paper.

“Fleet optimisation was one of key areas for emission improvement in India. DHL Express reviewed areas where we predominantly delivered documents and replaced over 60 vehicles with 75 motorbikes thereby increasing fuel efficiency. Blue Dart, which operates over 5,000 vehicles, worked on substituting air routes with intercity road line haul. At the same time, we have implemented pick up and delivery optimisation measures to further enhance our operational efficiency and service levels for customers,” said Malcolm Monteiro, senior vice president and area director, South Asia for DHL Express.

The Postal Service has set aggressive goals to reduce energy use 30% by 2015, petroleum fuel use 20% by 2015 and greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2020. In 2009, the agency reduced its total facility and vehicle energy use 9%, as it increased its alternative fuel use 26%.

In 2009, Postal Service employees reduced the amount of municipal solid waste generated by 7% compared to the year before. Postal employees also increased the amount of recycled or reused electronics by 73% in the same timeframe. The 2009 sustainability report is available at the Postal Service’s green website, usps.com/green which shows customers how to “skip the trip” by using free carrier pickup, Click-N-Ship and other online services. In 2009, online transactions increased 13%, meaning fewer trips to Post Offices, saving customers time and fuel and reducing their carbon emissions, too.

“It’s our goal to make sure every letter and package mailed is a greener experience for the people who use our services,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “Reduce, reuse, recycle is more than a slogan - it’s a way of doing business throughout the Postal Service. We are reducing energy and fuel use, our carbon footprint is growing smaller, and our employees and customers are benefiting from our environment-friendly practices.”

Pulcrano attributes other sustainability successes to the Postal Service’s inclusive “culture of conservation.”

Highlights from the sustainability report include:

• 10.8 trillion - reduction in British thermal units (Btu) in facility energy use since 2005

• $400m - savings in energy costs since 2007
• $314m - savings due to reduced contracted transportation fuel use
• 10m - saved sheets of paper through Human Resources online initiatives

• 2 cents - cost per mile to operate three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles

According to Pulcrano, “The Postal Service is making good progress in achieving its sustainability goals and continues to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable future for our organisation, our employees and our customers. As federal agencies begin to ‘green the government’ the Postal Service continues to step up and take action.”

Deutsche Post DHL, the parent company of DHL, is the first company in the industry who has committed itself to a quantifiable climate protection target - the Group will improve its CO2 efficiency by 30 percent by 2020 compared with 2007.

“As the world’s biggest logistics provider, we recognise a special responsibility to use our core competencies to minimize the impact on the environment and give back to the larger society,” said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. “We are committed to continuing to invest in green technologies and want to demonstrate at the Expo what we consider innovative, sustainable logistics.”

The exhibition shows examples from the Group’s carbon emission management and DHL’s GOGREEN products, environmentally friendly transport technologies and new concepts for effective City Logistics. At Deutsche Post DHL, the DHL Solutions & Innovations unit and the Corporate GoGreen initiative are exclusively dedicated to developing solutions for the logistics of the future and for keeping environmental aspects at the centerpiece of business.

The innovations

DHL is showcasing innovative concepts for urban traffic reduction.

On the “Road of solutions” the DHL Smart Truck calculates the most efficient delivery route.

Traffic jams, detours and instant orders are managed cleverly, reducing city traffic and saving emissions. Another example for “cleaner” City Logistics is the project “Bring Buddy”. In collaboration with universities and inspired by the idea to transport parcels in cities without the use of cars, DHL reviews alternative concepts for avoiding inner city traffic. For instance, people that already move across the city could carry parcels. Mobile phones work as information and documentation tools. Social networks become genuine networks. The third example is eco-friendly buildings which are an important step to saving resources and emissions. DHL complies with the latest standards when building new facilities, solar panels are used or rainwater gets collected. All these measures help to protect the climate - and minimise operation costs.

As the “Road of Solutions” picks up on discussions on renewable energies and measures lowering emissions, on the intelligent recycling of raw materials, and on the integration of nature in cities, DHL will use the opportunity to invite customers to the Expo to get a lively impression of the Group’s “green” activities and to organise symposia and discussion panels.

Through EarthSmart, FedEx seeks to extend the depth and breadth of how sustainability is woven throughout the company. The FedEx EarthSmart programme was developed in collaboration with Esty Environmental Partners, a sustainability management consultancy founded by Yale professor Dan Esty, author of Green to Gold.

Specifically, EarthSmart covers three pillars - business solutions, workplace culture and community outreach:

- EarthSmart Solutions are identified by a self-certifying, strict, quantifiable standard for innovation and environmental sustainability applied to FedEx services and assets, including planes, trucks, services and facilities. The solutions go beyond accepted industry standards while demonstrating tangible benefits to the business.

- EarthSmart @ Work includes programs that engage our team members on sustainability matters and help them to make significant contributions to the environmental sustainability of our business.

- EarthSmart Outreach empowers FedEx and team members to contribute to the community in environmentally-focused ways, including enabling team members to apply their unique skills and capabilities with organizations that need them, such as assisting with sustainable transportation solutions in the developing world.

The EarthSmart programme will be central to accomplishing significant citizenship objectives in 2010.

In addition to introducing EarthSmart, the 2009 FedEx global citizenship report provides insight regarding the company’s progress toward achieving its commitments to team members, customers, shareowners and communities. The newest edition demonstrates progress toward or accomplishment of the goals established in the company’s inaugural report in 2008.

Highlights of the 2009 review include:

-An 8.33% reduction to-date against the 2005 baseline for aircraft emissions, advancing toward the goal of a 20% intensity decrease by 2020.

-A 14.1% improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency since 2005, surpassing the halfway milestone for increasing ground fleet efficiency 20% by 2020.

- Exceeding the fiscal year 2008 goal of procuring 25,000 MWh of renewable energy credits while continuing to install solar electric systems, with a current capacity of 3.92 MW.

- Completing the process of tracking facilities’ emissions.

- Maintaining charitable giving levels despite difficult business conditions, giving 1.5% of our pre-tax profits.

- Implementing a method to simplify organizing volunteer programs and to track volunteer efforts, which helped identify that during the 2009 FedEx Cares Week alone, team members in 38 countries volunteered more than 20,000 hours.

A temporary hold issued 15 January for mail accepted for delivery to Haiti has been lifted, and air transport of international letters and packages from the US has resumed, allowing mail volumes to begin flowing to Haiti as airlift and operational capacity expand.

USPS has continued to accept mail for Haiti and held it for delivery at five International Service Centers. Over 2,000 pounds of international mail will be entered into Haiti throughout the week.

The reopening of mail service from the US to Haiti is part of a comprehensive effort to reestablish routine and secure service through national posts around the world, increasing the ability to transport shipments of food, supplies and other essentials.

“Establishing mail service for the people of Haiti is critical to the overall recovery effort,” said Pranab Shah, managing director and vice president, Global Business. “We are very pleased to resume transportation of mail into Port-au-Prince, and will continue to support the recovery efforts of Haiti Post.”

As part of a global response led by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the United Nations agency overseeing international mail exchanges, the USPS has provided vehicles, equipment and supplies to support Haiti Post in its efforts to reestablish service. The US Postal Inspection Service has been involved extensively in these efforts and is continuing to provide security assessments, facility restoration planning and related expertise.

International mail services offered by the Postal Service to destinations in Haiti are Express Mail International, Priority Mail International, and First Class Mail International.

This contingency plan meant that alternative mail delivery routes using trucks, vans, cars and trains were put into action. In some cases, sea transport provided the best solution at that point of time. The delays mainly affected international sending more than domestic deliveries or deliveries to neighbouring countries. Despite, on-going airport closures, the reliable network and contingency plan ran smoothly and delays were minimised, said the organisation.

“Despite the challenges, European Postal Operators did a good job at responding to the disruption caused by this unforeseen event, minimising delays thanks to the close cooperation with international partners” states PostEurop secretary general Botond Szebeny. “The successful handling of this crisis situation has again reinforced the value of close cooperation between European Postal Operators in order to maintain customer service and provide reliable and good quality postal services,” he concluded.

FedEx Express began restoring its service to Europe on April 18 with flights from the US, Asia and the Middle East to and from Charles de Gaulle in Paris and has steadily increased its operations as more airports in Europe re-opened. The Company indicated that in the period April 19 through April 22, it has flown 7.7m pounds of freight or the equivalent of 53 MD-11’s inbound and outbound from Europe.

The Corporate Responsibility Report 2009/2010, released today under the title of “Living Responsibility”, explains in detail how the company intends to achieve the goals clearly spelled out in its Group Strategy 2015. An integrated component of Strategy 2015 is the areas of environment (GoGreen), disaster management (GoHelp) and education (GoTeach).

“We can be successful only if we focus on sustainable development. This means doing business in a sustainable and successful manner and assuming our social responsibility,” CEO Frank Appel said. “The Corporate Responsibility Report demonstrates very clearly that our Group lets not only words, but also deeds do the talking. These are the critical factors that will make us the first choice among employees, customers and investors.”

Rainer Wend, the Group’s executive vice president of corporate public policy and responsibility, added: “The report shows that we have accomplished very much. And our employees have played a major role in this effort.”

“At the Postal Service’s green newsroom, every day is Earth Day,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “Our history of environmental efforts goes back more than 100 years and Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to tell Americans about the Postal Service’s planet-friendly initiatives.”

According to Pulcrano, the USPS green newsroom answers key green questions including:

• How big is the Postal Service’s carbon footprint?
• How is the Postal Service decreasing its carbon emissions?
• How many hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs has the Postal Service saved since 2007?
• How many hundreds of thousands of tons of waste did the Postal Service recycle in 2008? (Hint - enough to fill America’s tallest building.)
• How expired or unwanted pharmaceuticals are safely discarded with the Postal Service’s help without harming the environment?

Visitors to the green newsroom can learn about the Postal Service’s first test of electric vehicles in 1899, when it found that mail could be delivered in less than half the time taken by horse-drawn wagons. They also can find out how many billions of miles were traveled last year to deliver America’s mail, and how many millions of gallons of alternative fuel were purchased by the Postal Service in 2009.

Increased targeting and industry initiatives, combined with growing household recycling levels and increased subscription to the Mailing Preference Service (MPS), have resulted in an overall reduction of 348,600 tonnes of direct marketing material being distributed between the signing of the voluntary agreement in 2003 and the end of 2009.

The amount of direct mail entering landfill has fallen by 79% since 2003, with some 382,698 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved by increased recycling activity in 2009 alone - the equivalent of one billion miles driven in a petrol car.

This increase in the levels of recycled direct marketing material also reflects a significant behavioral change over recent years, with levels of domestic recycling across all household waste more than trebling during the past decade. Direct marketing material now accounts for just 0.4% of all non-recycled household waste and Confederation of Paper Industries data suggests that the current levels of recycling for direct mail material outperforms general paper recycling.

Since Defra (Department for environment, food and rural affairs) introduced the recycling targets in 2003, the DMA and Royal Mail has supported a number of industry initiatives to support a wider industry drive towards sustainability, including:

- PAS2020 - guidelines introduced in spring 2009 to gauge the environmental impact of direct marketing activity

- Sustainable Mail - a Royal Mail service that rewards better-targeted, sustainably produced and easy to recycle direct mail campaigns with lower prices

- Expansion of DMA best practice guidelines to tackle environmental impact, and the introduction of a reduced-cost BSI ISO 14001 certification.

The report also reveals:

- Subscriptions to the MPS have increased by 21% since 2003, to more than 4.5 million householders. Almost 200,000 households have joined unaddressed mail opt-out schemes

- More than half of UK adults say they would like increased recycling information from their local authority

- Over half of residents (51%) would recycle more mail if they had more information on whether envelopes could be recycled

Defra, the DMA and Royal Mail will now discuss next steps, including how the direct marketing industry will continue the drive towards greater environmental efficiency.

Dan Norris, minister for environment and rural affairs at Defra said: “I’m pleased to see the industry’s commitment to driving up the recycling rates of direct marketing. We look forward to working with them in the future as they strive to increase recycling even further. It is also important to ensure that direct mail is properly targeted to reduce the need for waste in the first place.”

Robert Keitch, chief of membership and brand at the DMA, said: “The huge volume of direct mail now being recycled is not merely mail that travels straight from doormat to recycling bin. Every year, direct mail generates £16 billion in sales for UK plc. Hitting the Government’s recycling targets shows we can do so without hitting companies’ bottom lines.”

Matthew Neilson, head of environmental solutions, Royal Mail, commented: “The direct marketing industry has made a significant effort to reduce its impact on the environment, and the introduction of initiatives such as the DMA’s PAS2020 and Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail product have been instrumental in helping the sector to achieve this recycling goal. However, there is much more that can be done to ensure direct marketers are communicating in as sustainable a fashion as possible.”

The targets apply to posted direct marketing material in England, covering addressed items such as direct mail and unaddressed items including leaflets and inserts.

Post employees say electric bicycles ease the burden when making deliveries. About 1,500 delivery workers at postal service Itella use a bicycle at work. About one third have switched to electric bikes.

“Older workers can use electric bicycles if they need to. And if the terrain is hilly, an electric bike is made available,” said deliverer Janne Kyttä of Kuopio.

Helkama Velox is Finland’s only electric bike manufacturer. Most of its electric bikes are purchased by customers in Central Europe. Managing Director Jari Elamo says that tourism hotspots have begun buying the bikes for tourists to hire. Some hotels have made them available for guests, and they’re also used in healthcare.

Elamo predicts that someday electric bikes will replace not only regular bicycles, but also cars.

“As a global company, with a significant portion of our operations, people and facilities based in metropolitan centers, we highly value healthy urban spaces,” said Mitch Jackson, vice president, environmental affairs and sustainability, FedEx Corp. “Our work with NFWF offers a unique opportunity for our team members to work directly with local nonprofits to improve the urban spaces that we share with the communities where we live and work. We congratulate the six community groups that were selected to receive 2010 grants.”

“At the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation we believe that collaboration with innovative global leaders like FedEx Corp., as well as local grassroots conservation organizations, is key to tackling some of our nation’s most pressing conservation challenges,” said Jeff Trandahl, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s executive director.

During the next three weeks, FedEx team members will participate in a day of service with NFWF’s grant recipients to help clean the Los Angeles River, plant trees in Memphis and Pittsburgh, mentor youth while building a green roof on Randall’s Island in New York City, convert a condemned nursery into a LEED-certified facility in San Francisco, and develop an outdoor-living classroom in Washington, D.C.

“Urban conservation is vital to the health and well being of city inhabitants,” said Lynn Dwyer, northeast assistant director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “By developing green space and providing public access in densely populated areas, we are also helping to deliver a straightforward answer to modern day problems, such as pollution and energy usage.”

The FedEx contributions, ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 per project, will be implemented through NFWF’s Five Star Restoration Program and the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. Funds from FedEx and NFWF will be significantly leveraged by support from federal and state government agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as other private and non-profit partners, resulting in a four-to-one match.

The organisations selected to receive grants in 2010 are: Friends of the Los Angeles River; Living Lands and Waters; Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; GreenApple Corps; Golden Gates Parks Conservancy; and RiverSMart Schools.

We will start off in the US this week, where FedEx announced the expansion of its alternative-energy vehicle fleet with the first all-electric FedEx parcel delivery trucks in the country. Four purpose-built electric trucks-optimised for electric operation from the wheels up-are slated to hit the road in the Los Angeles area starting in June 2010. “FedEx has a history of changing what’s possible, both in the innovative services we offer customers and in the way we offer those services,” said John Formisano, vice president, Global Vehicles, FedEx Express. ”In 2004, we were the first global company to invest in hybrid-electric commercial trucks, and now we’re introducing the even cleaner all-electric parcel delivery truck. We’re making these investments, and invite others to join us, so that together we can speed the transition to a cleaner transportation system.”

In Europe, DHL Express European Management and trade unions, BBTK, LBC and ACLVB, have signed of a Collective Labour Agreement outlining details of a support package for employees affected by the move of DHL’s European headquarters from Brussels to Bonn, Leipzig and Prague. Ken Allen, global CEO, DHL Express said: “I am very pleased that, in close collaboration with our social partners, we have reached a solid agreement. DHL has faced tough challenges due to the global economic crisis, and, going forward, as markets recover, it is critical that we continue to have a close and mutually supportive partnership with our social partners.”

In the Middle East, Emirates Post has launched a two-month campaign to highlight the advantages of having one’s own private P.O. Boxes, instead of using company mail boxes for receiving their personal mail. “Emirates Post’s private P.O. Box service assures privacy and confidentiality of mail,” said Ibrahim Bin Karam, CEO, Emirates Post. “The advantages of having a private P.O. Box are many. Subscribers can be sure that all their mail is safely deposited in their P.O. Box. There is no chance of any missing mail. They can access their mail 24 hours a day.”

And finally…

As media partner to the event, Post&Parcel can’t wait for the World Mail Awards in Copenhagen in June. As well as meeting old friends, we will find out who will be picking up the gongs. Triangle Management Services, the organisers, have announced there have been more than 100 applications - so we can’t wait to get all the gossip from the event.

To book your place at the World Mail Awards, please click here to download a booking form. Alternatively to attend the Awards ceremony and the World Mail & Express Europe Conference & Exhibition, please click here to book online.

“FedEx has a history of changing what’s possible, both in the innovative services we offer customers and in the way we offer those services,” said John Formisano, vice president, Global Vehicles, FedEx Express. ”In 2004, we were the first global company to invest in hybrid-electric commercial trucks, and now we’re introducing the even cleaner all-electric parcel delivery truck. We’re making these investments, and invite others to join us, so that together we can speed the transition to a cleaner transportation system.”

Two of the new all-electric trucks come from Navistar, and are being assembled in Indiana. These are based on the Modec design already operated by FedEx in Europe. Ten such Modec vehicles serve FedEx routes in London and five more are on order for Paris.

Another pair of electric vehicles is being purchased from a different manufacturer for delivery to the Los Angeles area later in 2010. Both sets of electric vehicles are designed with a range that allows many FedEx Express couriers to make a full eight-hour shift of deliveries before their vehicles need recharging.

Postal and airline cargo executives taking part in the IATA Air Mail Track have been addressing the structural transition from single-piece letter mail business to packets and parcels business - a key issue in the current postal environment, where data indicate that although letter mail volumes are declining, parcel and mail packet levels have been increasing. Indeed, executives participating in the Air Mail Track say they foresee double-digit growth in packets and parcels volumes.

This is important not only for posts, but also for airlines that help transport these mail products around the world. Hinds, who chairs the IATA Air Mail Track, stated that the IPC-moderated discussions have helped lead postal and airline executives to commit to work toward paper-free transport and accounting methods in airmail transport.

Jörgen Van Mook, IPC’s manager of operations planning, reported at the conference that airlines acknowledge that airmail is a growing business that they should be investing in to take advantage of the growing revenue potential. Van Mook said that going paper-free means posts and airlines can get rid of costly and cumbersome error-prone paper-based handling and manual data processing, and move away from wasteful printing of tons of paper.

IPC, working together with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and IATA, has developed a set of standards and technology that helps posts and airlines coordinate the exchange of key data to enable near real-time tracking of mail in transport. Using EDI messaging, posts and airlines can send and receive advance notification of expected mail volumes, which allows posts and airlines to better manage revenues and operations, meet quality targets, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

IPC’s work in EDI messaging is part of its Future of Mail by Air initiative, which is working with airline and postal executives to find solutions that will benefit both industries. The initiative aims to transfer the traditional business processes between posts and passenger carriers into a professional customer-supplier relationship and over time even into a business partnership, which helps to improve visibility of mail in transport at a lower overall operating cost.

Tens of thousands of the Royal Mail’s bicycles are to be largely phased out with many sent to Africa.

It will mark the end of an era for postmen who used to deliver the vast majority of letters and parcels on two wheels.

The bicycles will now be largely replaced by vans - with walking postmen pushing trolleys in areas not suitable for motor vehicles.

Adam Crozier, the outgoing chief executive of the Royal Mail, disclosed the policy in a letter to a peer.

He said that bicycles “posed a wider safety risk associated with British street networks where the rider is exposed to greater risks than other vehicle users”.

“We expect to see a reduction in the number of delivery accidents as a result of our rollout of the new delivery technology, as a substantial proportion of accidents are currently liked to the use of bicycles on busy road networks,” he added.

Crozier also disclosed that the Royal Mail had considered introducing “tricycles”. However, he said: “The use of freight tricycles is problematic unless terrain is extremely flat.”

Lord Berkeley, a Labour peer and keen cyclist, said the plan was a “slap in the eye” for Government attempts to encourage more cycling.

Lord Hunt, a business minister, said: “I think we need to understand that the main reason for the change is to improve efficiency of the Post Office,” he said.

He said the bicycle panniers could carry a maximum of 32kg which was often not sufficient “for the parcels and packages that are becoming an increasing part of the postman’s lot to deliver”.

Last night, Royal Mail said it was not phasing out bicycles “completely”. However, a spokesman refused to say how many bicycles were being retained.

The web-based, multi-user solution, which can support up to 3,000 users, is deployed to staff responsible for managing the Royal Mail  UK collections and delivery network that encompasses 114,000 post boxes, 68 mail centres, 1,400 delivery offices and 12,000 Post Office branches.

The vehicle tracking solution has formed an element of the vehicle and driver management strategy designed to improve road safety, reduce fleet size and drive down fuel consumption. The strategy has also included a driver risk assessment initiative, which has seen 27,000 drivers assessed and given individual risk ratings. Drivers have then been provided with tailored training schedules that include a mix of classroom-based and in-vehicle courses to improve road skills and driving behaviour.

Royal Mail has accessed real-time and historical fleet data via C-track to monitor the effectiveness of the driver risk assessment initiative. o date, driver productivity has increased by 3% accident rates have been reduced by 20% and instances of speeding are down by more than 60%. Meanwhile, harsh braking has been reduced by 70% contributing to greater fleet efficiency.

Mike Devanny, head of fleet and maintenance services at Royal Mail, said: “We have implemented the vehicle and driver management strategy to support our objective to become the lowest cost postal operator delivering quality service.”

Tom O’Connor, managing director of DigiCore Ltd said: “Our partnership approach has enabled us to develop a customised vehicle tracking system that has delivered fleet savings as part of a wider management initiative. The flexibility of C-track combined with our support ensures that the solution meets the precise needs of Royal Mail.”

Richard Long, general manager, DHL Supply Chain Environmental and Compliance Solutions, said: “As the UK’s biggest provider of compliance data services, DHL Supply Chain already has an experienced team of packaging and WEEE compliance experts, nonetheless this is a great team effort.”

This new service is expected to eliminate 8m miles from the total driven by UPS each year in the United States and will save an estimated 793,000 gallons of fuel and 7,800 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Together, FedEx and CI will support reforestation in Sichuan Province, which was severely impacted by a major earthquake in 2008, and raise environmental awareness through programmes designed to empower FedEx employees to share the importance of a balanced ecosystem with their community.

“This alliance with Conservation International demonstrates not only a shared ideology between our respective organizations for the sustainability of our planet, but also our collective commitment to help in the rebuilding efforts of the affected region,” said David L. Cunningham, Jr., president, Asia Pacific, FedEx Express. “I am proud that FedEx employees will play an active role in the environmental awareness program to educate and convey conservation issues important to the communities where we operate.”

FedEx supports CI’s work in ten community conservation projects that will reforest areas that were destroyed by the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake took over 69,000 lives and caused $124bn in damage, including destruction of panda habitat. The reforestation effort will primarily involve planting of native plant species such as bamboo, which will restore and protect the panda’s habitat as well as provide the animal’s primary food source.

The employee environmental outreach program was developed by CI for FedEx so that employees can share knowledge about the environment in their communities. CI will train employees to give two presentations - one on ecosystems and the other on the forest area that makes up the panda habitat. The training will help employees and in turn their communities understand how reforestation efforts are helping to lower global carbon emissions and leading to more sustainable forestry practices.

DHL Express is donating its transportation network and logistics expertise for delivery of the refurbished “XO” laptops, a unique laptop developed by The One Laptop per Child foundation.

On 11 March in Dallas, Texas, DHL Express picked up the first set of computers, which reached Port-Au-Prince on the following Monday. Waveplace, an organisation that provides free laptops in the Caribbean, will then distribute the laptops in four communities in Haiti.

“Since the devastating earthquake, DHL Express has provided a significant amount of support for the distribution of relief goods into Haiti,” said Charles Brewer, senior vice president and general manager for DHL Express. “As the specialists in international express shipping, we are delighted to partner with The One Laptop per Child foundation and support this effort.”

“The event of near total reconstruction of Haitian education infrastructure provides the unique opportunity to rethink school and how children learn,” said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC. “Providing each child with a connected, rugged, hand-cranked or solar-powered laptop, to use at home and in school, provides a unique learning experience and makes each child an agent of change.”

Eddie Sheppard, head of Brightsource’s postal management services, told Post&Parcel: “We’ve now met sustainability criteria on over 20m packs in the last 10 months. To have saved our clients over £100k, and cut carbon emissions at the same time, is a win-win situation.”

Responsible and Sustainable Mail offer tariff discounts on bulk direct mail that adheres to a range of green criteria, including improved sustainability, waste minimisation and increased recyclability.

Royal Mail recently announced that 100m items had been delivered via its Sustainable Mail service since its inception.

Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL - the parent company of DHL - commented on the situation: “As a company that operates everywhere around the world, we are very committed to bring in our logistics expertise in Chile to help coordinate relief efforts.”

In order to reach remote fishing villages with the urgently needed relief goods, one team of the DRT members packed 4,000 special plastic bags over the weekend, containing food, water and other aid material for the Chilean government organisation ONEMI at Santiago airport. The special DHL bags are water proof and generally filled with 25 kg of supplies including food and water. They are robust and can be thrown from helicopters or airplanes into areas hard to reach on land or water way.

DHL expects to continue the aid trips

At the same time a team of volunteers drove 40 trucks filled with goods from the capital Santiago to the city of Concepcíon this weekend. The trucks moved approximately 25 tons of material and household items for the humanitarian aid organisation Hogar de Cristo, as part of the Chilean governments call for support. DHL and Hogar de Cristo already cooperated in the past and DHL expects to continue the aid trips for the organisation throughout the country.

In 2005, DHL entered into a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) in the area of Disaster Management. DHL’s global DRT network consists of three teams which are assigned to a specific geographic region covering Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and Africa. Each of these teams consists of a pool of about 80 specially trained DHL employees, who - in addition to their normal job - have volunteered to take part in the pro-bono humanitarian efforts.

The DRT can be deployed to a crisis area within 72 hours and for a period of up to three weeks. By that time, the initial wave of international charter aircraft bringing in aid supplies has normally subsided to a level that is manageable by local authorities. Up to fifteen members of the team are present at any point in time during the deployment.

Parcelforce Worldwide managing director David Smith said: “We take our environmental and community responsibilities very seriously. We have a comprehensive programme of activities to reduce our impact on the environment and to invest in third-party environmental initiatives.”

Parcelforce Worldwide testers put vehicles through an exhaustive trial process, as a result of which Mercedes-Benz was able to fine-tune the specification of the vehicles to meet its customer’s precise requirements.

Meanwhile the manufacturer’s top van man also spent a day on the road with a delivery driver to gain a real feel for the demands of the job. Van sales & marketing director Steve Bridge joined driver Andrew Johnson - a member of the test team - as he delivered parcels from the company’s Nottingham depot.

Parcelforce Worldwide operations director Adele Henderson said: “We were really delighted that Steve wanted to spend a day with our driver Andrew. The great thing about Mercedes-Benz is that they were really responsive to understanding our needs.”

Based at depots across the UK, the Sprinter 311CDIs have replaced a large proportion of the Parcelforce Worldwide van fleet, which provides express delivery to all 27m addresses across the UK.

The ECO-Start system, which automatically cuts the engine whenever the vehicle is stationary for two seconds, and starts it again as the driver depresses the clutch, was a major part of the Sprinter’s appeal to Parcelforce Worldwide.

Michael Anderson, Parcelforce Worldwide’s head of innovation, says: “The Sprinter ECO-Start supports Parcelforce Worldwide’s environmental policy. We’re looking for these vehicles to deliver something in the region of a 5% fuel saving.”

This initiative improves the environmental quality of the new buildings by reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and energy consumption. The new buildings will also be equipped with meters to measure the energy performances of the various spending categories: lighting, heating, air conditioning, ventilation and domestic hot water, etc.

From 2011, the first three energy-saving certified mail preparation and delivery platforms in La Manche region will be inaugurated within the framework of a green lease, the first one of the kind for this type of buildings within La Poste Group.

“Canada Post believes it is important to continue to explorer greener avenues by investing in technology that reduces carbon emissions and lowers our overall environmental footprint,” said Steve Clark, national director of fleet management. “The addition to our fleet is a testament to Canada Post’s commitment to environmental sustainability.”

In this regard, MaltaPost has introduced its first postal eco-friendly electronic vehicle. Low carbon transport and energy efficiency stand to become important considerations for MaltaPost when assessing processes and projects in the coming years. This vehicle is able to hold voluminous mail items such as parcels and other bulky items which will enable the Company to deliver mail to its clients in the best condition. These vehicles are electrically powered, silent and completely without exhausts making them very environmental friendly.

USPS operates a fleet of approximately 142,000 LLVs as part of the largest civilian fleet in the world, according to USPS sources, with 218,684 vehicles travelling more than 1.25bn miles each year. The USPS fleet consumed 444m gallons of fuel in 2009, costing roughly $1.1bn. Agency vehicles average 10.4 miles per gallon since most drive slowly and make frequent stops with the engine idling between mailboxes.

Postal customers are being encouraged to “read, respond, recycle” their P.O. Box mail in Post Office lobbies as a convenient and environmentally responsible alternative to taking it home to discard.

“Lobby recycling helps divert paper waste from landfills, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste disposal,” said Deborah Giannoni-Jackson, vice president, Employee Resource Management. “In 2009, the Postal Service sold raw materials from recyclables, diverting them from landfills, making us greener and producing a positive impact on our bottom line.”

Following the success of the New Electric Postman Helper (NEPH) project which has successfully accompanied the development and the prototyping of the e-byke and e-caddy for postmen, PostEurop launched the European-wide Green Fleet Forum which brings Environment and Operations experts together with representatives from the European Commission, research institutes, suppliers and manufacturers to further initiate and facilitate mutual sharing of best practices, knowledge exchange and opportunity to meet representatives from the supply industry within this field. Participants aim at giving an overview of green transportation initiatives in the area of hybrid, electrical and hydrogen vehicles within their organisation.

“Over the years, PostEurop and its members have been very committed to seeking a climate-neutral solution in all aspects of postal activities. The Green Fleet Forum is the beginning of a dialogue between European Public Operators and key stakeholders to specifically address the transportation aspect of our operations. We hope that this initiative will spark a great amount of common interest to further green our fleets,” said Dr. Botond Szebeny, PostEurop secretary general.

Operators at the launch included Royal Mail, P&T Luxembourg, TNT, Itella, CTT Correios de Portugal, Deutsche Post DHL, Groupe La Poste, Poste Italiane, La Poste- De Post (Belgium), Posten Norge and Magyar Posta, as well as industry stakeholders.

As part of the Supply Chain Decarbonization Initiative, the guidelines were endorsed by the Governors for Logistics & Transport at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010.

Frank Appel, CEO, Deutsche Post DHL and chairman of the Governors Meeting for Logistics & Transport 2010, said the guidelines were “a practical step forward for our industry in working with customers to move towards low-carbon supply chains.”

“Logistics and transportation providers face growing demand from their retail and manufacturing customers to report the carbon emissions generated by the shipping and handling of products,” said Jonathan Wright, senior executive in Accenture’s Supply Chain Management practice. “These guidelines will help them work towards providing product-level carbon footprint information for their customers.”

The guidelines include principles for defining the scope of emissions to report and how these emissions should be allocated in cases such as shared transport or backhaul.

“By providing accuracy and consistency in carbon reporting, these guidelines help companies to compete meaningfully on environmental efficiency,” commented Sean Doherty, head of logistics & transport industry at the World Economic Forum.

The guidelines complement broader upcoming and existing product-level carbon reporting standards including the GHG Protocol Life Cycle and Scope 3 Standards expected to be released at the end of 2010.

This recognition follows the divulgation at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen that CTT ranks as the 5th best world postal operator in reducing CO2 emissions, and reflects the rigorous and consistent commitment of all workers to strength the long term responsible business image of CTT.

Correios is part of IPC’s Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System.

Companies can join up to the Sustainable Mail service if they meet the criteria based on three key environmental needs - improved sustainability, minimised waste and increased recyclability. They can also now benefit from Royal Mail’s ‘DM Sale’, offering a discount of 20% on new or additional mailings in March and April this year. This offer is available through both Sustainable Mail and Mailsort services.

Matthew Neilson, head of environmental solutions at Royal Mail, said: “There has been tremendous interest in Sustainable Mail and we are delighted that so many brands have signed up to the service. Reaching 100m items in the first nine months is an impressive and important milestone for us.

“The organisations involved have met our strict criteria and we are sure they will be joined by many others willing to take advantage of this product and work with us to reduce direct mail waste and streamline production.”

Each year since 2001, the award recognises “two individuals who have provided extraordinary leadership or done pioneering work on behalf of sustainability and business success.”

The jury highlighted the efforts of TNT to fight world hunger and reduce carbon emissions through its two programs, “Moving the World” (a joint initiative with the United Nations’ World Food Programme) and “Planet Me.”

Now it wants to serve as a key energy storage asset for the nation’s power grid.

Rep. Jose Serrano recently introduced H.R. 4399, The American Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Act, which would authorise the addition of 20,000 electric-drive delivery vehicles to the USPS fleet.

With a fleet of 221,000 vehicles, USPS could play a big role in bringing EVs to market, according to Rep. Serrano, chairman of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government subcommittee, which oversees federal payment to USPS.

Known as the “e-Drive bill,” it would allocate up to $2bn for a two-phase, multi-track testing and manufacturing program for electric drive vehicles within USPS. Both new and converted electric postal vehicles would serve as power storage devices for the grid, helping ease peak loads and store energy from intermittent or fluctuating sources. US Department of Energy, which granted $2.4bn in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of the US batteries and electric vehicles last year, would administer the programme.

Maplecroft rates corporations based on performance in five areas: quality of management on climate issues; mitigation of carbon emissions; carbon reporting; the use of innovative technologies and business practices that capitalise on climate-related opportunities, and “adaption,” which is how companies address climate challenges within their operations. More than 300 companies were ranked.

Tai Shan, a 4-and-a-half-year-old male panda born at the National Zoo, and Mei Lan, a 3-year-old female panda born at Zoo Atlanta, will travel onboard a custom-decaled FedEx Express 777 Freighter (777F) - known as the “FedEx Panda Express.”

“FedEx is uniquely qualified to make this special delivery given our long history connecting the US to China and our extensive global experience in shipping precious cargo, from packages to pandas,” said David J. Bronczek, president and CEO, FedEx Express.  “It is a privilege to serve as the trusted carrier of these rare pandas, and we are proud to support the preservation efforts of this endangered species.”

Currently, conservationists estimate that only 1,600 pandas remain in the wild. Both Tai Shan and Mei Lan are part of global, giant panda conservation programs.

APC Celtic Couriers will use the 10-metre trailer for deliveries into city and town centres throughout the SA postcode region as well as for trunking to the APC Overnight national hub in Wolverhampton.

“We needed a manoeuvrable compact trailer that would allow us to get in and out of town and city centres. In addition it had to be as fuel and emissions efficient as possible as well as provide good load capacity. By meeting these requirements within the design of the Eco Urban trailer, it allows us to provide customers better services and keep costs down. W Trailer Co has produced a totally practical solution for APC Celtic Couriers and we are proud to be the first depot in the UK to take delivery of the new trailer,” said Gareth Jenkins, logistics manager, Celtic Couriers.

Stewart Burton of W Trailer Co, reports that although the Eco Urban offers more flexibility for the operator and improved service to the depot customers and the reduced running costs make economic sense.

“APC Celtic Couriers briefed us on what the company needed as an efficient delivery solution and the Eco Urban is the result. The trailer uses the same roof design as our standard Eco Deck Trailer. It provides extended 26-pallet row capacity within a standard 10-metre length and the aerodynamic design reduces environmental impact. We have been building urban trailers for many years and we have seen a shift in demand for these shorter trailers as they can be used with existing tractor units, reducing the need to invest in additional vehicles such as rigids. They are becoming the preferred equipment for getting deliveries easily in and out of town. We have since extended our Eco family to include both urban and rigid products,” said Burton.

The initiative is conducted in cooperation with Green Logistics / Becycle, a new company specialising in ecological transportation. TNT already makes tricycle deliveries in eight other French towns (Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Dijon, Nancy, Rouen, Grenoble, and Valence).

“Three other city centres will follow during the first half of 2010,” said Eric Jacquemet, the president of TNT Express France. “Cargo tricycles have proved reliable, efficient and popular for inner city deliveries. They are an answer to noise, pollution, and traffic jams.”

Despite being snowed under with media inquiries after Beglé’s departure, the Swiss Post media team has still been doing their bit to share some positive news this week. First up was the announcement that the operator is planning to equip 20-30 modern post offices with consulting areas for PostFinance financial products by 2012 - investing CHF 100m in the process. Secondly, customers have been invited to vote on which environmentally-friendly project deserves to be donated the fund collected from ‘offsetting CO₂ emissions’ surcharges. The shortlist consists include: Electricity from harvest waste in India; biogas from waste disposal in Turkey; and wind power in China.

Another top position was vacated this week as John Greco resigned from his position as president and CEO at the US Direct Marketing Association. Looking to the future, Eugene Raitt, chairman of the DMA Board of Directors said: “The committee will conduct an aggressive search and I’m confident that we will find an exceptionally qualified individual to fulfill the DMA’s vision and goals. We are grateful for John’s able service and dedication to the Direct Marketing Association over the past five years. We wish him much success with his future endeavors.”

Over to Asia now, and Pos Malaysia has announced the introduction of two new services: Post-Automated-Machines (PAM) and Pos-on-Wheels, a mobile post office. Pos Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat said a pilot project of PAM had been carried out at the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office and was expected to be expanded to other locations nationwide, in stages. When asked about Pos-on-Wheels, the chairman added the service would be available at mostly crowded and strategic places. “Pos-on-Wheels will also be able to conduct online transactions. This is due to the usage of satellite connectivity,” he said.

And finally…

Post&Parcel often wonders what lengths companies go to out-do each other, especially when it comes to which company is the most environmentally-friendly. Seven minutes after we received a press release from DHL about the introduction of a new fleet of 1,800 ‘green’ Volvo trucks, the UPS media team responds with the news that 245 new natural gas trucks have hit the streets of Colorado and California. Thunder stealers!

UPS began deploying alternative fuel vehicles in the 1930s with a fleet of electric trucks that operated in New York City. Since 2000, the company’s “green fleet” has travelled more than 165m miles.

“The greening of our fleet demonstrates the effectiveness of harnessing multiple technologies and applying the right vehicles to areas where they will provide the best advantage,” said Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president of supply chain, strategy, engineering and sustainability. “Compressed Natural Gas continues to be a sustainable technology for UPS’s fleet because natural gas is cost effective, clean-burning and abundant.”

These trucks are compliant with the EURO 5 standard and will gradually be replacing the older vehicles, which meet the EURO 3 standard. The EURO 5 standard sets limits for noxious exhaust emissions from motor vehicles, such as nitrogen oxide and soot particles, and is based on a European Union directive on emissions that was introduced in 2009.

“The modernisation of our fleet is an important part of our GoGreen climate protection program. By deploying new vehicles, we are satisfying Europe-wide standards and will be able to further protect the environment”, explained Rainer Wend, director of corporate public policy and responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL.

“We are proud to be a preferred supplier for Deutsche Post DHL”, said Staffan Jufors, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks. “We share the same focus on sustainable growth. We aim to increase our cooperation, especially regarding environmental issues, to find common ways to tackle the challenges that the transport industry is facing.”

Mail addressed to Haiti is continuing to be accepted by the Postal Service, and will be held until transportation arrangements become available.

Additional information regarding acceptance and movement of mail to Haiti will be provided as it becomes available.

Customers wishing to offset the CO₂ emissions generated by their mailings have been able to do so since February 2009 by paying a «pro clima» surcharge. Swiss Post also makes use of «pro clima» and offsets the CO₂ emissions that occur in transporting its own correspondence.

It invests the collected surcharges in emission certificates for a climate protection project, which would otherwise not have been possible without additional funding. The consignments thus become carbon-neutral. With more than 55m consignments and 100 business customers to its name, «pro clima» has achieved gratifying results.

Swiss Post is pursuing a consistent environmental strategy: it is reducing energy consumption as far as possible and replacing energy from non-renewable energy sources with renewable energy. By way of «pro clima», customers can offset CO₂ emissions resulting from the remaining energy consumption. The «pro clima» steering committee has presently earmarked three projects, on which the public will have the opportunity to cast their votes on the Swiss Post portal from 18 - 27 January. The following projects are up for the vote.

Electricity from harvest waste in India

At the biomass power plant in Karnataka, harvest waste such as sugar cane or coconut leaves are burned and used to generate electricity. The power plant has an output of 4.5 megawatts and, in particular, can process biomass with a low thermal value. The electricity generated in this way is fed into the local supply grid, replacing electricity produced from fossil fuels and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Biogas from waste disposal in Turkey

Gases are collected at the Mamak waste disposal plant in Ankara province, and biogas and syngas are produced. Gas turbines use it to produce electricity. For this purpose the disposal site was covered, a drainage system for leakage water was developed, and a sorting and recycling centre set up. The facility replaces conventional power plants in the region and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions thanks to renewable energies.

Wind power in China

40 wind turbines assembled in China with a total capacity of around 50 megawatts create 110 gigawatts of electricity each year and replace electricity from CO₂-intensive coal plants in northern China. The wind park is connected to the northern Chinese grid. The plant supports the development of energy production with renewable energies in China and the related development of technology.

«Gold Standard» projects

Swiss Post only supports environmental projects with the independently monitored «Gold Standard». This currently highest quality seal ensures that the CO₂ reduction projects result in a real reduction in greenhouse gases and promote sustainable development in the countries concerned. To date, no Gold Standard projects have so far been initiated in Switzerland.

“DHL is committed to providing unwavering support to the people of Haiti and our employees and their families during this devastating situation. We will do our utmost to make sure adequate food and medical supplies are delivered from the international airport to the people,” said Frank Appel, chief executive officer of Deutsche Post DHL.

The DHL team in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is preparing to handle a variety of unsolicited relief goods such as tents, tarpaulins, food, clothing, medicines and water purifying equipment. DHL is aiming at building up a temporary, professional warehouse at the airport, including sorting facilities and making a full inventory of donated goods. Part of the team’s tasks is to also ensure the speedy loading of aid onto trucks or helicopters. The mission is expected to last for several weeks.

“The DRT was designed to respond to devastating situations like these and is committed to helping the people of Haiti. Its members are well-trained to provide hands-on effective logistics support to help the victims of natural disasters in the time of need,” said Chris Weeks, DHL director of humanitarian affairs. “However this disaster is going to require exceptional logistics skills as the country had poor infrastructure even before the earthquake struck,” continued Weeks.

Global Mail is pleased to introduce the GOGREEN Carbon Offset service, a carbon neutral shipping and mailing option for materials sent within the US. This voluntary service allows Global Mail customers to offset the CO₂ emissions produced during the delivery of their shipments by paying a small fee to help fund climate protection projects. Available for all of the company’s domestic shipping and mailing products, this new offering is part of the GoGreen climate protection program - an initiative of Deutsche Post DHL, Global Mail’s corporate parent.

“Many of our customers share our commitment to the environment, and they voiced their desire for a more eco-friendly mailing option,” said Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL Global Mail - Americas. “GOGREEN helps our customers reduce their carbon footprints in a practical and transparent way, while expanding Global Mail’s own climate protection efforts.”

Working through a variety of programs administered by the Foundation, FedEx will provide funding on a competitive basis to projects that improve environmental quality in 12 urban communities over the next two years. Key to this initiative is the engagement of FedEx team members, who will work with grant recipients as volunteers, helping advance conservation projects in their local communities.

In 2010, FedEx volunteers will conduct projects in Los Angeles, Memphis, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.  In 2011, projects will be added in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Seattle. Individual grants for projects in each city will be between $25,000 and $50,000.

“At FedEx, we are committed to connecting the world in responsible and resourceful ways both in how we do business and how we serve our communities,” said Rose Jackson Flenorl, manager of global citizenship at FedEx. “The launch of our collaboration with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is an example of this commitment and will engage our greatest asset - our team members - in this vital work.”

The first round of projects funded by FedEx will be executed in April 2010. Funding applications are now open for conservation projects in 13 US cities in 2011. Complete information on the programs through which FedEx grants will be administered, including conservation priorities and application guidelines, is available at www.nfwf.org/fedex.