CO₂ neutralization 

Removing residual emissions from the atmosphere

From 2030, any CO₂ that Swiss Post cannot prevent will be neutralized – in other words, removed from the atmosphere and stored in the long term. To achieve this, the company is currently focusing on two nature-based methods: production of biochar and sustainable forest management.

Swiss Post aims to reduce 90 percent of its CO₂ emissions, including by switching to electric vehicles. Despite this target, around 10 percent of residual emissions will remain. Swiss Post plans to remove these from the atmosphere from 2030. In order to develop methods and measures for removal and long-term capture of the residual emissions generated by Swiss Post, the company has founded the subsidiary Post CDR Ltd (Carbon Dioxide Removal).

Biochar helps Swiss Post progress

Use of biochar – for example, as a component of climate-neutral concrete – has proved itself to be an effective carbon sink. For this reason, Swiss Post is supporting the development of a project to manufacture biochar. Based in Maienfeld (Canton of Graubünden), Inkoh AG produces biochar from untreated Swiss wood timber using pyrolysis.

Sustainable forest management

Forests are another method of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, particularly when they are managed sustainably. To ensure that the carbon locked in the wood can be stored in the long term, the felled wood has to be used in an equally long-term way, such as in construction. Swiss Post has purchased 2,400 hectares of forest in the German state of Thuringia as part of its efforts to pursue this approach.

“Manufacture of biochar and sustainable forest management combined with long-term timber usage are important first steps towards CO₂ neutralization,” says Philipp Mäder, Managing Director of Post CDR Ltd.