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.
The national postal carrier has already achieved a 20 per cent emissions reduction and a 39 per cent reduction in waste to landfill from FY 2019, and its new 2030 Framework sees to focus on reducing the more challenging carbon emissions in its transport network.
At the same time it seeks to hasten its approach to a circular economy, as it strives toward targeting Net Zero emissions by 2050.
Under the 2030 plan, Australia Post has committed to four key targets:
- Additional 8 per cent reduction in Scope 1 emissions by 2030 (from a 2025 baseline), driven by further electrification of its fleet, greater rollout of electric delivery vehicles, electric trucks and increased use of low-carbon liquid fuels.
- Increasing installed on-site solar capacity from 14MW to 30MW by 2030.
- Maintaining 100 per cent renewable-matched electricity, while reducing the proportion of grid energy consumption at operational sites.
- Maintain Scope 3 emissions at 2025 levels to 2030. This will be achieved by working with air freight partners, contractors and suppliers to reduce their transport carbon emissions.
Recognising that transport is the largest contributor to its carbon footprint, Australia Post will prioritise lower-emissions vehicles, renewable energy integration and route optimisation across its national network.
The Framework also marks a shift toward a more circular approach to materials, moving beyond a traditional ‘take-make-waste’ model.
Australia Post’s 2030 circularity targets include:
- A further 30 per cent reduction in waste sent to landfill (from a 2025 baseline).
- An 80 per cent waste diversion from landfill.
Beyond reducing its own impact, the carrier is also exploring how its national infrastructure can help play a role in supporting a more circular economy for all Australians.
Australia Post Chief Sustainability Officer, Richard Pittard, said the Framework ensures Australia Post is well-positioned to meet its long-term sustainability commitments.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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