Climate and energy 

Swiss Post assumes responsibility for the climate

Swiss Post has set itself an ambitious climate and energy target and is implementing it consistently – among other things by expanding electromobility and switching to renewable energy. Sustainability is a key component of the “Swiss Post of tomorrow” Group strategy.

As one of Switzerland’s biggest transport and logistics companies, Swiss Post has many opportunities to actively contribute to climate protection. Its focus is on reducing the company’s own greenhouse gases and improving energy efficiency. “Setting ambitious climate targets has proven its worth and continues to spur us on,” says Christian Plüss, Executive Management Delegate for Corporate Responsibility. Swiss Post aims to be carbon neutral in its in-house operations from 2030 and achieve net zero in its value chain from 2040. The climate target for Swiss Post and PostFinance is validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Of the 9,000 companies validated by the SBTi worldwide to date, only nine Swiss companies have received net zero validation for 2040, with Swiss Post being among the largest.

Swiss Post is on track with its target

To achieve its ambitious target, Swiss Post has developed a comprehensive portfolio of measures and again implemented numerous measures in 2024. A few examples:

Electrification of the fleet

An important factor in achieving the target is the electrification of the vehicle fleet. With around 7,300 vehicles, Swiss Post operates Switzerland’s biggest electric fleet. Swiss Post letter and parcel deliveries are by electric vehicle in the cities of Zurich, Bern, Basel and Geneva, and this will be the case in all urban centres from 2025. By 2030, the entire delivery vehicle fleet is expected to be converted to electric drive systems. For heavy goods transport, Swiss Post is also committed to alternative drive systems: trucks with hydrogen and electric drive systems are already in use. In as early as 2035 – five years earlier than planned – PostBus plans to operate only electric vehicles. The two biggest challenges in converting Postbuses and trucks to electric drive systems are higher acquisition costs compared to diesel vehicles and building the charging and energy infrastructure. This is a very ambitious goal for PostBus that requires adequate co-financing by the purchasers of passenger transport services and an appropriate regulatory framework.

Shift to renewable energy

Swiss Post covers 100 percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources from Switzerland. It uses only “naturemade star” certified green power to operate its electric vehicles and access points. Photovoltaic systems at 52 Swiss Post locations generate around 7.5 gigawatt hours of solar power annually. In view of its growing electricity requirement as a result of the electrification of the vehicle fleet, Swiss Post is planning to expand its photovoltaic capacity to 30 megawatt-peak by 2030. At the same time, around 80 percent of buildings are expected to be heated without fossil fuels by 2030.

PostFinance: decarbonization of its own investments

In its own investments, PostFinance is reducing emissions by 2030 by at least 25 percent compared to 2021, and for corporate bonds it ensures that around half of all financed counterparties themselves pursue a validated climate target. Financial investments in companies that generate more than 30 percent of their revenue from coal are excluded. PostFinance is publishing its transition plan for achieving these targets for the first time in its 2024 Sustainability Report.

CO₂ removal and storage

From 2030, Swiss Post plans to remove unavoidable residual emissions from the atmosphere and store them for the long term. To achieve this, it is building up a portfolio for CO₂ removal and storage that includes nature-based methods such as sustainable forest management. “We think outside the box: we also want to get involved in climate protection outside our value chain,” says Christian Plüss, explaining Swiss Post’s motives. One pilot project in collaboration with Bern University of Applied Sciences (HAFL) is the management of Zillbach forest in Thuringia, Germany, where Swiss Post is storing CO₂ in the long term, while at the same time promoting biodiversity. The high cost of and limited access to proven technologies for long-term and scalable carbon removal constitute a major challenge here.