UPU highlights postal sector at COP21

01.12.2015 - The Universal Postal Union’s deputy director general, Pascal Clivaz, is in Paris for the COP 21 climate summit to highlight actions by the organisation and postal sector.

Pascal Clivaz (second from right) at La Poste France's webcast in Paris

The Universal Postal Union’s deputy director general, Pascal Clivaz, is in Paris for the COP 21 climate summit to highlight actions by the postal sector in this field.

 

“The postal sector is developing and already has tools allowing it to become part of the solution for this challenge that affects us all,” said Clivaz in a panel discussion organized by France’s La Poste and broadcast on December 1. 

 

Regular actions by the UPU include an annual emissions inventory measuring the carbon footprint of postal operators in its 192  member countries. Greenhouse emissions in the postal sector accounted for at least 62 million tonnes of carbon in 2014, added Clivaz. 

The challenges posed by climate change should be seen as an opportunity that Posts must seize, said Clivaz. It is a chance to respond to the demands of customers who increasingly expect more eco-friendly postal products and services. 

 

Posts can also make operations more effective as they revamp their supply chains, they can even cut costs, reducing their dependence on expensive, high-emission fuels.

Measuring and reducing emissions

This focus on postal emissions comes in the midst of the 21st session of the Conference of Parties in Paris  or COP21, a high-level meeting of countries that are signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

To help improve the environmental performance of Posts, the UPU is planning to launch an online tool early next year, allowing them to measure and report their emissions. 

 

The Online Solution for Carbon Analysis and Reporting (OSCAR) is expected to provide Posts with crucial data about how they measure up against key carbon benchmarks and to lead them on the path to the reduction of their footprint. OSCAR is scheduled to be launched in April 2016. 

 

Efforts to rein in emissions also include the UPU’s International Bureau in Berne, Switzerland, which is now among the 21 UN organizations that are carbon neutral. 

Source :  http://news.upu.int/