The week that was: 24 September 2010

POST act unveiled in the US, postal industry cuts emissions, and Royal Mail workers to be offered shares… Welcome to ‘the week that was’, your weekly news round-up courtesy of Post&Parcel. We are going to delve right into the good stuff, so sit back and enjoy!

After a long and anxious wait in the US, a postal reform bill has been unveiled in Congress this week proposing to cut Saturday deliveries and allow the Postal Service more scope to close post offices. The Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation (POST) Act of 2010 was introduced by Tom Carper, the Democrat Senator from Delaware, bringing to the table many of the reforms recommended by the postmaster general. Sen. Carper said the troubled economy and continuing migration to electronic communications was putting the future of the USPS “in jeopardy”. He spoke of a need for a “shared sacrifice” by postal employees and customers alike to protect the service. The POST Act would allow post offices that are “no longer necessary” to be replaced by automated kiosks or postal stations located in grocery stores. And, eliminating Saturday deliveries would save $3bn a year, the Senator believes. “If we do nothing, we face a future without the valuable services the Postal Service provides,” Sen. Carper warned. “However, if we act quickly, we can turn things around by passing this necessary bill that would give the Postal Service the room it needs to manage itself and avoid it becoming the latest victim of Congressional gridlock.” John E Potter said the POST Act would provide a “roadmap to recovery” for USPS. He said it contained many of the “essential” elements the Postal Service has identified as necessary to address the changing market. Post&Parcel hopes this measure will see USPS’s fortunes turn for the better.

The importance of green strategies in postal boardrooms has soared over recent years – and now it seems it is beginning to pay off. This week we learned that the postal industry has cut its CO2 emissions by over half a million tonnes in 2009.The findings were made public in the Postal Sector Sustainability Report 2010, published by the International Post Corporation (IPC). The Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) programme was launched with the presentation of the industry’s benchmark report at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen, Denmark, when the postal industry became the first global services industry to adopt a sector-wide approach to sustainability. The sector then set itself an emissions reduction target of 20% based on 2008 figures, by 2020 (the ’20/2020 target’). In this first year of reporting nearly all of the 20 participating postal operators improved their carbon management scores on 2008, reporting a collective reduction in CO₂ emissions of a total 597,000 tonnes. In 2009 these posts collectively emitted 8.63m tonnes of CO₂, so this figure represents over a third of the required emissions reduction to meet the 20% target by 2020 set in Copenhagen. IPC chairman and CEO of Groupe La Poste Jean-Paul Bailly commended the participating postal operators on the strides they have collectively made. He said: “I am extremely encouraged by this significant lessening of the postal industry’s global carbon footprint, and delighted we as an industry have been able to achieve so much in our first year. IPC’s leadership in driving the EMMS programme has in no small part contributed to achieving these great results.” Great news!

In the UK, it was revealed this week that Royal Mail workers will be offered at least 10% of the company’s business shares if it is privatised. Business secretary Vince Cable made the admission during his speech at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Liverpool. Cable said the engagement and participation of the Royal Mail’s staff is crucial to the business’ next chapter. “That is why our legislation will include a specific provision to make available at least 10% of the shares in Royal Mail to employees, as part of the privatisation process,” Cable said. “This is a once in a generation chance to transform the culture at Royal Mail – energising everyone and allowing employers and employees to share in the company’s future success.” However, the proposal was labelled ‘patronising’ by a Union leader. Responding to Vince Cable’s announcement, Communication Workers Union general secretary, Billy Hayes said: “Any offer of shares to employees is deeply patronising for people who have invested their working lives in this public service.”

And finally…

Keep sending your stories in to Post&Parcel. Email [email protected] if you have something that might be of interest to us. Have a good weekend!