Posti has become the first Finnish company to have its science-based net zero targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The SBTi is a body that enables businesses to set ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on accelerating the halving of emissions by companies across the world before 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions before 2050. The initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Posti’s targets include ensuring its own operations release zero emissions by 2030 and ensuring its total emissions reduce by 50% from the 2020 level by 2030. By 2040, Posti intends to be net-zero in all its operations. The net-zero target means that Posti will reduce the emissions of the value chain to zero in addition to the emissions caused by its own operations. It plans to do this by making its road transportation 100% fossil-free across the value chain by 2030.
To reach the science-based net-zero target, a company must reduce all its emissions to zero. However, if this is not possible, for example, because a company cannot control all emissions in its value chain, emissions must be reduced by at least 90%. In this case, the remaining emissions must be removed from the atmosphere.
According to the International Post Corporation, Posti is also globally the first company in its industry to have its net-zero targets approved by the initiative. In addition to Posti, 16 companies worldwide have had their net-zero targets approved. Of these companies, eight are committed to reaching the target by 2040.
Sustainability director at Posti Noomi Jägerhorn said: “The latest climate science from the IPCC [the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] shows it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but we are dangerously close to that threshold. Companies need to rapidly halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net-zero before 2050. Posti is committed to net-zero already by 2040, and we want to encourage all companies to join.”
Source: Posti/ Parcel and Post Technology International
