Green services and products ​

Successfully transitioning towards a decarbonised business means being reliant on the market and third parties for products that are cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable. Examples include the speed with which electric trucks and vans are widely available, the implementation of a stable, Benelux-wide electric charging network, and the impact that air freight has on our scope 3 CO₂ emissions. To solve these issues, we need to work with our customers and partners along the supply chain, looking for ways to reduce social and environmental costs while improving efficiencies. At the same time, we need to invest in developing technologies to help accelerate the rate of change.

As part of our engagement with customers, we have been working on increased transparency of the sustainability of our services. One example is periodic communication to customers about the CO₂ emissions in grammes per parcel and mail item for delivery in the Benelux, which is becoming an increasingly important topic as part of the customer journey. In 2023, average CO₂ emissions per parcel were 350 grammes and per mail item 12.2 grammes (based on 'well-to-wheel' emissions). These figures, which have only been collated since 2023, include emissions from our large truck transport and our delivery partners.

Supplying customers with this type of information provides them with important insights and helps them offer sustainable choices to consumers. Going forward, we will continue to work on digitalisation and data management to help us deliver more detailed CO₂ data from across our delivery operations.

Developing green services

Greater customer choice through delivery preferences

In 2023, we continued to add functionality across our digital accounts, including expanding the delivery preferences available for both the PostNL app and web accounts. This enables consumers to indicate a default preference and an away-from-home preference, so that your parcel is delivered where you want it to. Consumers can choose from one of the standard delivery preferences, which are delivered to your address, a neighbour, a nearby PostNL point, or to a parcel locker near by. Additionally, consumers can choose to have a parcel delivered to an agreed location around their house, such as in the garden, the shed, a storage box, garage or a parcel locker at home. The only exceptions are for deliveries that require a signature. Adding choice removes the number of parcels automatically rerouted to a PostNL parcel point, helping to reduce unnecessary consumer journeys.

Helping customers create sustainable direct mail campaigns

During the year we introduced a service that helps customers produce a sustainable direct mail campaign. While many customers recognise the advantages of direct mail campaigns, including higher response rates, more targeted messaging, and greater cost effectiveness, not all were aware that direct mail can also be a sustainable option.

Called 'Launch a sustainable direct mail campaign in 5 steps', the service guides customers through the decision-making process of creating a campaign and helps them choose the most sustainable option at each step. We believe leveraging these advantages in the most sustainable way helps companies effectively engage with their target audiences and achieve their marketing objectives.

Clothing donation points with Dobbi and Salvation Army

In 2023, we opened 800 clothing donation points across the Netherlands in collaboration with Dobbi, the online laundry and dry cleaning service in which we hold a stake, and the ReShare division of the Salvation Army, which collects and sorts donated clothing.

Members of the public can hand in clothing they no longer wear to one of the participating PostNL points, which is then brought to ReShare by Dobbi. As the global market leader in textiles collection, each year ReShare processes around 26 million kg of donated clothing. In the Netherlands, the organisation offers employment to over 300 people with a distance to the labour market.

We believe that working together with both organisations will help improve the collection and processing chain of unwanted clothes, reducing waste and helping those that will most benefit from second-hand clothing.

Developing green products

Smart and circular packaging for a greener planet

Recycled bags

We collaborate with customers, suppliers and industry organisations to explore sustainable packaging practices. For instance, we transport products from our customers without packaging and annually reduce the percentage of air in parcels and roll cages, and in 2023 reduced the amount of air in the parcels we delivered by 6.2% (2022: 4.4%). One of the key benefits is that less air in parcels means smaller parcels and less packaging material, which is better for the environment and results in a more efficient logistics process.

Customers can order sustainably produced packaging in a wide variety of sizes through our Smarter & Sustainable packaging website. One example is the Do Good Bag, designed to reduce, reuse and recycle. Made from recycled materials, the bag can be reused if the consumer wants to return the goods. We are currently investigating which reusable packaging we can add to our product range.

Reusable packaging pilot

In 2023, we collaborated with Dutch e-tailer Bol.com to look into the feasibility, viability, and, most importantly, desirability of reusable packaging in e-commerce. For this initiative, we deployed hundreds of reusable packages from various suppliers to assess their impact on our operations. As part of the project, these packages were randomly dispatched to a range of consumers, who were then requested to return them to Bol.com through PostNL. A flyer accompanied each package, detailing return options, from PostNL retail points to Albert Heijn supermarkets, or direct handover to the parcel deliverer.

The return rate at the conclusion of the pilot was 55%, above expectations, despite participants not being offered any rewards or compensation. This outcome instils confidence in the intrinsic motivation of consumers to contribute to reducing environmental impact. Notably, consumers overwhelmingly preferred PostNL's hand-in options for reusable packaging, citing convenience in choices, including mailbox drop-offs and retail locations. We have actively shared the results and insights from this project across various platforms within the broader e-commerce community. The forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) stipulates that by 2030, 10% of e-commerce packaging should be reusable. This will impact our customers significantly. Our goal is to serve as an inspiration and collaborator within the value chain, working with partners to foster the development of a scalable and sustainable system.