Belgian Minister of state Elio Di Rupo and Bpost CEO Koen Van Gerven have officially inaugurated the first green Bpost distribution center in Mons, Belgium. The optimally insulated building is equipped with solar panels and distribution of letters and parcels in Mons will be done by electric vehicles.
These innovations enable Bpost to achieve better energy performances at the Mons distribution center, with electricity consumption cut by 18% and gas consumption by 55% compared with average consumption at the other distribution centers.
With this type of initiative, Bpost intends to retain its title of ‘the world’s greenest postal operator’ from the IPC, and has set itself the goal of reducing the CO₂ emissions from its activities by at least 20% by 2030.
To succeed, Bpost will replace 50% of its diesel fleet with an electric alternative by 2030 and 20 new electric vans have already been taken into service at the distribution center in Mons for the delivery of parcels and letters. Some 600 new electric vans will be deployed across Belgium by 2022, which will increase to more than 3,400 by 2030.
Bpost runs Belgium’s biggest electric fleet and is growing it with the introduction of Colibus, a fully electric vehicle specially designed for the parcel market to replace average-sized diesel vans in urban areas and carry more than 100 parcels. Bpost also runs 2,652 electric bikes and 324 electric trikes.
Van Gerven said, “Every day, millions of clients and citizens trust Bpost for the delivery of their mail and parcels. We want to keep meeting their needs, but we also want to listen to their environmental concerns.
“Therefore, we make every effort to ensure that our services generate as little impact as possible on our planet. The opening of our greenest distribution center today (Feb 15) in Mons is the perfect example of our ambition for the years to come: remain more than ever a green and sustainable postal operator.”