Croatian Post: our business must be green
Croatian mail and International Postal Corporation (IPC), an organization that brings together the world’s leading postal operators, has agreed to participate in the Sustainability Measurement and Management System (SMMS).
Croatian Post is the 20th postal operator to participate in the program of development and implementation of sustainable business and increasing use of renewable energy sources with an increase in the number of delivery vehicles on alternative fuels. The International Postal Corporation launched the SMMS program in 2019 to address the sustainability goals of the postal sector over the next ten years, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It expands to the 2009-2019 Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) program, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions, and expands its scope to seven focus areas of sustainability most relevant to the postal sector: health and safety, learning and development, resource efficiency , climate change, air quality, circular economy and sustainable procurement. Since launching their first program, participating jobs have reduced their annual collective emissions by more than 30%.
As part of the five-year development strategy after 2022, the Croatian Post reduced CO2 emissions by 280 tons per year, primarily through the purchase of electric vehicles co-financed by the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency. The postal fleet currently consists of more than 200 electric vehicles. Also, three charging stations for electric vehicles have been set up, which is a precondition for further expansion of the vehicle fleet.
“Today we are facing new challenges. It is no longer enough to just ensure business growth. We need to think about the future and sustainability, and corporate social responsibility is one of the development philosophies on which our strategy is based. We will achieve ambitious goals together with the help of IPC and other member organizations because our business must be green and must have an overall positive impact on all stakeholders “, said Ivan Čulo, President of the Croatian Post.
“We are pleased to welcome the Croatian Post as a new member of the SMMS program, demonstrating the value of working together as a sector to make a difference for the planet,” said Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC.
In April 2021, the Croatian Post began installing packing cabinets, a new delivery channel that is very important in combating harmful emissions. Package cabinets increase the percentage of delivery on the first try, reducing the distance traveled by vehicles – both postal and customer-owned, as lockers are available 24 hours a day at many nearby locations.
Last week Croatian Post it also increased the salaries of as many as 8,000 operational workers by as much as 20% this year.
President of the Croatian Post Ivan Čulo pointed out: “With all the challenges in the market and development, the impact of coronavirus and earthquakes on business, our strength has always been our people. With all the investments in infrastructure and digitization that we have made strategically in the last 6 years, I am glad that we have made this decision. Our people are competitive in the labor market and it is up to us as employers to be competitive. Workers are our window to the customer and as a company that has been operating in a liberalized market for almost a decade, we know very well that a satisfied worker is the path to a satisfied customer. “