From 1 January 2025, several inner cities in the Netherlands will enforce emission-free zones. Whether a car or van is allowed access to such a zone will depend on its emission category and hence on how much carbon the vehicle emits. PostNL has been investing in electrified deliveries for years and is ready and able to deliver parcels to inner city residents free of emissions. Not only is emission-free delivery better for the environment, it also contributes to the air quality and quality of life in the country’s inner cities.
Iris van Wees, Managing Director of PostNL’s E-commerce Operations, observes: “PostNL has been moving towards to emission-free delivery for years and the transition has resulted in a growing number of electric vehicles and accompanying charging facilities. For example, we recently brought into operation our 1,000th charging point, in a large charging square at our parcel sorting centre in Goes. Our over 100 cargo bikes, 48 light electric vehicles (LEVs) and 1,000 delivery vans take parcels to consumers every day. It’s something we’ve been doing on a large scale in the country’s inner cities and our aim is to deliver entirely emission-free to those inner cities that will have emission-free zones from 1 January 2025. This is a keystone aim for us, as we’re looking to make as little impact on the environment as possible, helping to make inner cities healthier places to live. Our eventual aim is to deliver emission-free everywhere, but this trajectory comes with a range of challenges, including pressure on the power grid.”
Committed to people and planet
Committed to a society that’s good for people and planet, PostNL contributes to this goal in a variety of ways. In April 2024, it opened a new parcel sorting centre that features an innovative battery for solar power storage. The centre is one of PostNL’s 31 sites that have earned the BREEAM sustainability certificate. In fact, PostNL delivers 96% of letterbox parcels to people’s homes emission-free from their last sorting site. And even bigger parcels are increasingly being delivered to consumers by electric vehicles, outside the country’s big cities as well. PostNL also recently started operating its first electric truck.
PostNL aims to have cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and by 90% by 2040.
Source: PostNL