Canada Post aims to convert 50 per cent of the vehicles in its fleet to electric by 2030.Supplied
Canadians value the ease and convenience of e-commerce. They also have high expectations of the organizations they choose to do business with, especially when it comes to social and environmental leadership.
Doug Ettinger, president and CEO, Canada Post, welcomes the challenge of increasing the capacity to deliver for Canadians while reducing environmental impacts. He sees it as an opportunity “to assume a leadership role across Canada.”
With a presence in thousands of communities across the country – big and small, urban and remote – the organization aims to become “a platform for change,” he says. Canada Post’s climate plan, launched in 2021, is part of a comprehensive transformation focused on increasing capacity, improving service and meeting the changing needs of Canadians.
Following an unprecedented number of parcels moving across the country during the pandemic, e-commerce is expected to keep growing over the long term. This means Canadians are looking to Canada Post to deliver more, and to do so as a responsible corporate leader.
“We set the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and reducing our emissions by 50 per cent by 2030,” says Mr. Ettinger. “To get there, we have to look at the impact of everything we do, from our fleet and our buildings to all aspects of packaging and our supply chain.”
Transforming an organization with nearly 68,000 employees, a real estate portfolio of about 3,000 properties and a fleet of approximately 14,000 vehicles required a plan that is aligned with climate science, he says. “We worked with experts with global experience to calculate our greenhouse gas [GHG] emission numbers, and we’ve done pilot studies on how to go forward.”
Canada Post’s carbon inventory helped to identify three areas for action: transitioning to a low-emission fleet, using renewable energy and greening its real estate portfolio, according to Mr. Ettinger. “We created a 10-year plan that’s based on reasonable assumptions about how things will change over time, including the cost and emergence of new technology.
“We have definitive targets, definitive timelines and clear amounts of funding support,” he says. “And our internal dashboards show us, quarter by quarter, how we’re measuring up to ensure we can meet our long-term goals.”
Decarbonizing transportation and buildings
Significant emission reductions are expected to come from transitioning Canada Post’s fleet, which drove 104.1 million kilometres in 2021 – the equivalent of circling the globe more than 2,500 times. “Our goal is to convert 50 per cent of those vehicles to electric by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2040,” says Mr. Ettinger. “This also means building charging infrastructure at approximately 350 depots across the country – and ensuring that we’re powering our fleet with green grids where possible.”
A recent milestone was the launch of its first depot using an all-electric corporate fleet in Nanaimo, B.C., he notes. “We started with locations using the clean grids of B.C. and Quebec. We have 14 electric vehicles in Nanaimo, and we are going to roll out more across the country.”
Another key component of Canada Post’s climate plan relates to decarbonizing its extensive real estate portfolio. For existing buildings, the organization is looking to implement retrofits and upgrades, such as LED lighting, solar panels, electrification of energy sources, and system upgrades like automation and sensor-controlled heating and cooling.
In addition to reducing emissions and increasing the energy efficiency of its existing buildings, “any new facilities will be net-zero buildings that meet the Zero Carbon Building standard of the Canada Green Building Council,” says Mr. Ettinger. An example is the new Albert Jackson Processing Centre in northeast Toronto, which can process a million parcels a day, boosting the organization’s capacity.
“This net-zero building – named after Albert Jackson, our first Black letter carrier in the late 1800s – is an important step towards improving customer experience in the Toronto area, where about 60 per cent of our parcels pass through,” he says. “And we have plans to augment our facilities in other big cities with the same ESG lens.”
From pilot projects to societal transformation
The response to such measures has been very positive, notes Mr. Ettinger. “Many customers and partners tell us they’ll choose our shipping options due to our commitments to ESG, since this is becoming an important consideration for everybody.
“We’re also talking to our suppliers and subsidiaries to ask them to establish science-based targets by 2025, and this is built into our procurement process,” he says. “We have a broad span of influence and see it as our duty to set an example. We embrace the fact that we need to act now for a sustainable future.
“With our transformation plan, we support ‘A Stronger Canada – Delivered.’”
Canada Post achieved the 2023 Canada’s Clean16 award.
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with Canada’s Clean50. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.