Reduce our environmental impact by minimising our emissions and actively engaging with all our stakeholders

The logistics sector is undergoing significant transformation with an increasing focus on reducing environmental impact. As a leading parcel and postal delivery company, we are keenly aware of the significant role we play in the world around us. Each day, we facilitate thousands of connections through the delivery of parcels and mail.

With our extensive network of locations, vehicles, and dedicated employees, we are a constant presence in every street, every day, and have been for years. This long-standing role brings a responsibility that we take seriously. This is why we have established a strategic goal to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible across all areas of our operations. And through our science-based targets, we are on track to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040, which means that we aim to have reduced our total carbon emissions by 90% validated by the SBTi.

We have undertaken a double materiality assessment (DMA), which provides a holistic view of the impact of our business processes and along the value chain, helping us to identify and address key sustainability topics. The DMA allows us to evaluate the impact, risk and opportunities on society and our stakeholders, where we contribute, and where certain issues are linked to our operations, products, and services, both upstream and downstream in the section Our value chain and material topics within the General disclosures of the Sustainability statements.

The DMA also strengthens our understanding of the expectations of our key stakeholder groups in relation to sustainability matters. Customers are increasingly looking for environmentally responsible service providers, while investors are placing greater emphasis on long-term value creation, where sustainability initiatives align with financial growth and risk mitigation. At the same time, we also observe that both consumers and business customers are often unwilling to pay for services with a lower environmental and climate impact. This creates a continuous balancing act between the costs of sustainability and the trade-off cost. Our employees are motivated to work for a company that actively contributes to a sustainable future, fostering engagement and retention. Society, along with regulators, calls for active participation in efforts to reduce carbon emissions and pollution while encouraging circularity.

At PostNL, we conduct climate-related scenario analysis aligned with 1.5°C and 2°C pathways of the Paris Agreement to assess risks over short-, medium-, and long-term horizons. We evaluate risks that can have an impact on business operations, while a four-step climate risk assessment prioritises risks and guides targeted actions like renewable energy investments. This iterative approach supports informed decisions to reduce GHG emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3, ensuring our strategy adapts to evolving climate scenarios and aligns with global goals. More information can be found in the Climate change section within the Environmental disclosures of the Sustainability statement.

In 2024, we advanced our transition plan, outlining key decarbonisation levers, which are the strategies and measures we use to cut carbon emissions, improve air quality, and promote circularity. To reach net zero by 2040, we are investing in energy-efficient sorting centres, electric vehicles, and renewable fuels like biogas and HVO100, while optimising transport routes. By 2030, we aim to deliver emission-free from the final sorting centre to the consumer or an alternative pick-up location, deploying zero-emission vehicles and expanding parcel lockers and alternative delivery points. Our circularity goals target zero waste by 2040, supported by reusable packaging, extended equipment lifecycles, and sustainable procurement. Guided by science-based targets, we ensure measurable progress through continuous innovation.

The plan, which has been approved by our management and supervisory bodies, is central to our strategy. More information, including a list of our decarbonisation levers, can be found in Our strategy of the Environmental disclosures in the Sustainability statement.

The plan details three focus areas that we will concentrate on to achieve our strategic goal. These are:

• Climate change
• Liveability
• Circularity.

We address air and noise pollution, particularly in cities, by transitioning to electric vehicles, which are quieter, cleaner, and release zero particulate matter and nitrogen emissions from the combustion of fuel, key pollutants that affect air quality. Our environmental policy, aligned with ISO 14001 standards, focuses on reducing GHG, NO_x, and PM from logistics and transportation, contributing to sustainable cities. More on our environmental policy can be found in Our policies of the Environmental disclosures in the Sustainability statement.

Our KPIs for 2024 are explained below, and the initiatives we undertook throughout the year to achieve our strategic environmental goal are described through the rest of the chapter.

Performance summary

PostNL CO₂ efficiency as indicated
2023 - 2024, Target 2030

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In 2024, our CO₂ efficiency, measured in grammes CO₂e per kilometre, improved by 6% compared to 2023. This progress was driven by an accelerated transition to electric vehicles (see below for further details ), the continued expansion of renewable fuel usage, and a reduction in diesel kilometres driven.

During the year, we continued to support our logistics partners with the shift towards electric transport, offering financial incentives and start-up bonuses to stimulate the transition from diesel to electric. Additionally, our partners benefited from access to the charging infrastructure at our parcel sorting centres.

PostNL Emission-free last-mile delivery
2023 - 2024, Target 2030

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In 2024, a large portion of last-mile delivery for Mail in the Netherlands was completed by foot, bike, or e-bike, ensuring emission-free delivery. Over 86% of all mail delivery kilometres, equating to over 60 million kilometres, were emission-free in the last-mile, up from 82% in 2023. This allowed us to reach over 96% of Dutch postal delivery addresses emission free. For rural areas, where distances are longer, we are transitioning to electric vehicles and installing charging stations. By the end of 2024, we had more than 1070 electric cars in operation, reducing diesel usage for last-mile delivery by 30%. We remain committed to growing our fleet of electric vehicles and improving and expanding charging infrastructure.

From 1 January 2025, Dutch municipalities can designate urban areas as zero-emission zones, banning polluting vans and trucks. We already deliver with zero emissions in 27 city centres where zero-emission zones are in place and continue to expand our zero-emission network. This underscores our commitment to sustainability and our efforts to transform operations. Investments in e-vehicles, including light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), and charging infrastructure at depots support this transition.

In 2024, we reduced absolute gross scope 1 carbon emissions by over 6% from 2023, driven by greater use of renewable diesel, bio-LNG, and an expanded e-vehicle fleet. Our market-based scope 2 emissions were near zero, thanks to sustainably sourced solar and wind energy. This includes our own solar power and purchased renewable electricity with Guarantees of Origin, ensuring it comes from Dutch wind farms and European renewable gas. The remaining scope 2 emissions stem from district heating.

For scope 3 emissions, were the main categories of CO₂e emissions are purchased goods & services , capital goods, upstream transportation & distribution and employee commuting, we achieved over 9% reduction compared to 2023.

For our SBTi submission, we set ambitious targets to reduce over 90% of our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2030, compared to our 2021 base year. For our total scope 3 emissions, we aim for an absolute 45% reduction. These goals are significantly more ambitious than our previous targets, which aimed for a 60% reduction in scope 1 and 2, and 10% in scope 3 by 2030 from a 2017 base year. Please see the Climate change section of the Environmental disclosures in the Sustainability Statement for more information on our SBTi submission.

Additionally, we expanded the coverage of scope 3 emissions to include new categories such as purchased goods, capital goods, and fuel-related emissions. We will report progress in future Annual Reports.