Swiss Post, a company that believes dynamic Switzerland needs an equally dynamic postal service, announced that it has set an ambitious climate target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The company plans to reduce emissions by around 90 per cent through technological means, with the remaining 10 per cent to be extracted and stored from the atmosphere. One key approach is sustainable forest management, which helps capture and store CO2.
Swiss Post aims to be carbon neutral in its operations by 2030 and achieve net zero throughout its value chain by 2040. This involves electrifying their vehicle fleet and investing in renewable energies like solar systems.
“The CO2 that we cannot reduce must not remain in the atmosphere”
These measures will enable Swiss Post to reduce its emissions by around 90 percent by 2040. Even so, there will still be around 10 percent of residual emissions after 2040.
“The CO2 that we cannot reduce ourselves must not remain in the atmosphere. We plan to actively extract it from the atmosphere through various measures and store it in the long term,” says Roberto Cirillo, CEO of Swiss Post.
High-quality and effective technical carbon neutralization services hardly exist on the market at present. This is why the Swiss Post is taking action itself. Given current capabilities, Swiss Post is focusing on “natural” methods to extract CO2 from the atmosphere. One of these methods is sustainable forest management.
Roberto Cirillo, CEO of Swiss Post says, “For us, the focus is on the carbon storage potential of forest growth and sustainable use of wood. To implement this kind of long-term commitment, sufficiently large forest or land space must be available in Switzerland or European countries with a comparable level of political and legal stability. For this reason, Swiss Post signed a purchase agreement with the owner of a forest in Germany in June 2023.”
Swiss Post is set to acquire around 2,400 hectares of forest in the German state of Thuringia, with the transaction scheduled for autumn 2023.
Swiss Post also removes CO2 through vegetable carbon
Swiss Post is advancing its commitment to carbon reduction by exploring the use of vegetable carbon to store CO2 in soils. This natural approach, which involves a partnership with First Climate (Switzerland) AG, is exemplified through a project supported by Inkoh AG.
Inkoh AG produces vegetable carbon for agriculture and construction materials, aligning with the Swiss Post’s dedication to sustainable practices and carbon sequestration.
