EU Taxonomy on sustainable activities

The EU Taxonomy on sustainable economic activities, which applies to PostNL, is a classification system introduced to promote transparency, prevent greenwashing, and guide investments towards a sustainable future. As part of this effort to support the EU's climate-neutrality goal for 2050, the taxonomy requires companies like PostNL to disclose the extent to which their business activities contribute to sustainability.

PostNL’s activities are evaluated under the Taxonomy framework based on eligibility and alignment criteria. Activities are “eligible” if they align with the EU’s Taxonomy Delegated Acts, and “aligned” when they significantly support one of six environmental objectives. Alignment also requires compliance with “Do No Significant Harm” (DNSH) principles across the other environmental objectives, alongside minimum safeguards covering human rights, anti-corruption, fair competition and taxation matters.

To provide transparency on our sustainability alignment, PostNL reports key performance indicators (KPIs) on total operating revenue (turnover), capital expenditures (capex), and operating expenditures (opex). These results under the EU Taxonomy have specific implications for the company’s alignment with sustainability objectives, which we describe below.

Total operating revenue (turnover)

With 84% of our revenue deemed eligible under the EU Taxonomy, we demonstrate a substantial alignment of our business activities with sustainable practices, primarily in parcel and mail collection, sorting and delivery. However, only 30% of this eligible revenue meets full alignment criteria, mainly because of our sorting activities, by minimising transport movements and related environmental impact. Non-eligible revenue includes segments such as the transportation of parcels and mail by air, as well as certain service provider activities and the organisation of logistics, which do not meet Taxonomy sustainability criteria.

Capital expenditures (capex)

The capital expenditures that are considered to be eligible under the EU Taxonomy include transport, infrastructure for transshipments (sorting activities) and real estate activities. However, non-eligible capex primarily covers investments in software and other necessary equipment that fall outside the EU Taxonomy’s sustainable activity classifications. Of our capex, 47% is eligible, with 25% meeting alignment criteria for Taxonomy standards.

Our capex alignment reflects our commitment to investing in sustainable transport infrastructure, sorting facilities and low-carbon technologies. In doing so, we can reduce our environmental footprint.

Operating expenditures (opex)

PostNL is a people driven and asset-light company, therefore we deem opex immaterial under EU Taxonomy standards, meaning the company is exempt from detailed alignment reporting on opex.

As PostNL applies a materiality threshold of 5%, the relative share of opex in scope of the EU Taxonomy compared to the total operating expenditures of PostNL is deemed immaterial for PostNL's business model. As a consequence, the amount of eligible opex is exempt from the calculation of the numerator of the opex KPI for the EU Taxonomy and is therefore reported as being equal to zero.

In 2024, with the introduction of the CSRD, the EU Taxonomy has become part of the Environmental disclosures and is no longer reported separately next to the sustainability statement.

Looking ahead

The current technical screening criteria offer limited scope for postal operators to achieve progress in alignment. In-depth analysis and discussions within a working group facilitated by PostEurop have demonstrated that meeting certain DNSH criteria is both practically and economically unfeasible. To address this, PostEurop, on behalf of its members, including PostNL, submitted a proposal to the European Commission for postal-specific economic activities and screening criteria. This proposal aims to establish criteria that are realistic and appropriate within the context of postal business models.

By introducing sector-specific criteria, European postal operators would be able to make meaningful investments in sustainable activities that align with their operational frameworks. Simultaneously, this would enable postal companies to achieve greater alignment in their EU Taxonomy reporting, fostering sustainable growth within the industry.

More information can be found in the EU Taxonomy on sustainable activities section of the Environmental disclosures in the Sustainability statement.