In 2015, Le Groupe La Poste decided to voluntarily take part in the CDP Climate Change Investor Program, one of the environmental impact measurement initiatives developed by CDP.
In 2018, out of the 6937 companies that filled in the Climate questionnaire, only 126 (or 1.8%) were rated A. 22 of these, including La Poste, are French. La Poste ranks first in the “transport services” sector of this programme, and is the only postal operator in the world achieve an A.
La Poste is the only postal operator in the world achieve an A
This score not only recognises a commitment, it proves the efficacy of the group’s carbon emissions reduction policy and highlights its excellent performance. “The Group’s carbon neutrality, which it embarked on in March 2012, is applied in its business units and subsidiaries (1). Their offers are now entirely offset (2). Since May 2016, 100% of La Poste’s sites use electricity from renewable sources. In late 2018, the Group successfully launched a green bond. Shortly afterwards, an energy management system was also launched, with the deployment of the SOBRE solution across 325 Group sites”, states Antoine Doussaint, the Group’s Deputy Director of CSR.
This maximum score therefore recognises a strong, dynamic energy policy and a resolute commitment to the ecological transition. It is also an asset for the company that obtains it. “The rating is a selling point which is systematically mentioned in tenders. Companies and local authorities choose us for our commitment to CSR. They know that by using our services, they are getting the best environmental offer and that this gives them an advantage in their own environmental strategy or rating”, Antoine Doussaint emphasises.
(1): To reduce the environmental impact of its activities, La Poste committed to make its mail, parcel, express and digital activities carbon neutral, without additional costs for its customers: it measures its carbon footprint, reduces its CO2 emissions and offsets the remaining emissions.
(2): The quantity of CO2 emitted in one location can be offset by an equivalent CO2 reduction elsewhere. This is the principle of carbon offsetting. Companies apply it by funding projects that reduce CO2, by replacing polluting energies with clean energies (for example wind farms or solar power plants) or by capturing CO2 (for example reforestation).
Analysing and rating environmental impact
Scoring agency CDP evaluates companies, cities, governments and regions, using three programmes that focus on climate change, water supply and protecting forests. Based on a company’s policies and actions, CDP attributes a score ranging from D (Disclosure: the data have been submitted and the questionnaire completed) up to A (Leadership: the best practices are implemented). In between, companies can score C (Awareness: particular attention is paid to environmental issues) and B (Management: environmental issues are managed). Through its work, the agency, which is present in 50 countries, has built up the world’s most comprehensive non-financial database.