Australia Post sets 2030 emissions targets

Australia Post has launched its 2030 Sustainability Framework, setting new targets to reduce carbon emissions and keep resources in use across its fleet, properties and operations over the next five years.

Having already achieved a 20% emissions reduction and a 39% reduction in waste to landfill from FY19, the 2030 Framework focuses on reducing the more challenging carbon emissions in Australia Post’s transport network, while accelerating its approach to circularity, as the organisation strives for net zero emissions by 2050.

Under the 2030 plan, Australia Post has committed to four key targets:

1. Additional 8% reduction in Scope 1 emissions by 2030 (from a 2025 baseline), driven by further electrification of its fleet, expanded rollout of electric delivery vehicles, electric trucks and increased use of low-carbon liquid fuels.
2. Increase installed onsite solar capacity from 14 MW to 30 MW by 2030.
3. Maintain 100% renewable-matched electricity, while reducing the proportion of grid energy consumption at operational sites.
4. Maintain Scope 3 emissions at 2025 levels through to 2030. While parcel volumes are expected to increase during this period, this will be achieved by working with air freight partners, contractors and suppliers to reduce their transport carbon emissions.

The organisation will prioritise lower-emissions vehicles, renewable energy integration and route optimisation across its national network. The Framework also marks a shift towards a more circular approach to materials, moving beyond a traditional ‘take-make-waste’ model.

Australia Post’s 2030 circularity targets include:

• a further 30% reduction in waste sent to landfill (from a 2025 baseline);
• an 80% waste diversion from landfill.
   

The organisation is also exploring how its national infrastructure can help play a role in supporting a more circular economy for all Australians.

“This is about upgrading Australia Post for the future. We’re moving beyond incremental improvements to focus on the structural changes that will have the greatest impact, particularly across transport, energy and resource use,” said Australia Post Chief Sustainability Officer Richard Pittard.

“Reducing emissions in a network as large and complex as ours is not simple. It requires electrification, low-carbon fuels, renewable energy and smarter logistics, but just as importantly, it requires partnership across our supply chain.

“We’re also rethinking how we use materials. By embedding circular principles into how we operate, using less, using longer and using again we can reduce waste within our business and explore how our national network can help Australians do the same.”

Image credit: iStock.com/ymgerman