Australia Post acknowledges that the threat posed by climate change is caused predominantly by the production and use of energy, including electricity, natural gas, petrol, oil and by waste decomposition.

Australia Post consumes a large amount of energy; both stationary and transport. We consume electricity and natural gas during lighting, air conditioning and heating our facilities. Our vehicles use petroleum and diesel fuel to transport mail. With over 1,200 facilities and over 10,000 vehicles in the fleet travelling more than 206 million kilometres per year energy consumption and our impact on global warming are recognised.

As a result, Post joined the Greenhouse Challenge Program in 1997. The Greenhouse Challenge is a voluntary Federal Government program, which encourages the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Since we commenced our commitment to the Challenge program we have been actively reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. One of the keys to Australia Post’s success has been the significant gains in productivity that have been achieved through the transformation of our mails network into a highly reliable, efficient and cost-effective service. This has enabled us to maintain the low cost of postage over a 15 year period despite Australia Post making several acquisitions to increase its logistical capability. Throughout this period the volume of letters, parcels and retail transactions have significantly increased to the point where our revenue has grown from $3,300m to $4,500m yet while our emission levels have grown the growth is relatively small.

Emissions Update

Australia Post’s total greenhouse gas emissions for 2007 were 366,900 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Australia Post achieved a greenhouse gas emission reduction of 72,059 tonnes of CO2 equivalent from specific abatement initiatives in 2007. This brings Australia Post’s total savings, as a result of specific initiatives undertaken during the ten years of Greenhouse Challenge participation, to 358,817 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

The following graph displays the emissions by energy, fuel and waste from program inception, as well as a five year forecast (predicted savings from the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program have not been included in future predictions). As indicated above while emissions have increased overall they have not increased in line with business growth, this trend is predicted to continue.

Key Performance Indicators

Copies of Post’s Greenhouse Challenge Reports since 1998 are available:

	1998 (pdf, 109kb)
	1999 (pdf, 100kb)
	2000 (pdf, 101kb)
	2001 (pdf, 128kb)
	2002 (pdf, 126kb)
	2003 (pdf, 151kb)
	2004 (pdf, 165 kb)
	2005 (pdf, 140kb)
	2006 (pdf, 249kb)
	2007 (pdf, 430kb)

All pdf files require Adobe Acrobat to view.  If you cannot access these files, please call 13 13 18.

If you would like to calculate your own greenhouse gas emissions, go to the Government's Greenhouse Office at http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/gwci/calculator.html and use the greenhouse gas calculator.

As energy is the major generator of greenhouse gases in homes in Australia, use the energy calculator at http://saver.energyaustralia.com.au/start.html to calculate your energy consumption and identify opportunities that for reducing your emissions.

More information on the energy, fuel and waste initiatives Post has introduced since 1987 is available at Greenhouse Initiatives.