The International Postal Corporation (IPC) has announced its Annual Conference 2019 will take place in Bonn, Germany, on May 23-24 and will focus on postal sector sustainability and the challenges for the next 10 years.
Over 20 chief executives from leading postal operators around the globe are expected to attend the event and will explore issues such as how posts can, through their ubiquitous physical network, contribute to a sustainable delivery model and how innovative delivery methods can play a role in the development of sustainable logistics.
The executives will also discuss how well has the postal sector performed in sustainability over the last 10 years and what the new challenges, measurements and targets that will shape the sustainability program for the next 10 years will be, and the requirements of stakeholders for future postal sector sustainability initiative.
Ten years ago, postal operators through IPC were among the first to launch a sector-wide program to measure and reduce CO2 emissions. The postal sector is therefore often seen as an example by many sectors.
The full Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System (EMMS) program was launched in 2009, capturing data and measuring progress for the 2008 calendar year. In line with the program’s aim to reduce carbon emissions across the sector, IPC and the participating posts together set two ambitious targets to be achieved collectively by the EMMS group by 2020 (from the 2008 baseline year):
- To reduce combined carbon emissions from own operations by 20% – achieved in 2014, up to 30% in 2017.
- To achieve a score of at least 90% in carbon management proficiency – ahead of schedule.
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the program’s launch, the 2019 IPC Annual Conference will look at progress made so far and at how posts can renew their commitment by enlarging the scope of their sustainability program and adopting new targets.
Global sustainability experts, thought leaders and postal executives have been invited to speak and debate, including Dr Richard Hewston, principal consultant, Environment and Climate Change, Verisk Maplecroft; Marc Daelman, partner, PwC Belgium; Peter Bakker, President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); Frank Appel, CEO Deutsche Post Group; and Tone Wille, CEO Posten Norge.