Case study: How Canada Post reduces the carbon intensity of its fleet
With 65,000 full-time and part-time employees, more than 22,000 delivery routes and over 16.5 million addresses served in urban, rural and remote locations across Canada, Canada Post is the primary postal operator in Canada. In 2019, Canada Post’s corporate fleet accounted for 13% of its total carbon footprint. Reducing the carbon intensity of Canada Post’s owned fleet over the coming years is, thus, a key strategic priority Tweet This! that will help both Canada Post and Canadians transition to a low-carbon future.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Canada Post published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
As Canada Post renews and grows its fleet to meet Canadians’ changing needs it is exploring all forms of alternative propulsion on the market, including zero-emission vehicles where clean electricity allows Canada Post to maximise carbon reductions across its direct and indirect electricity emissions. In order to reduce the carbon intensity of its fleet Canada Post took action to:
- introduce hybrid vehicles
- use zero-emission vehicles
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Canada Post has identified;
- How Canada Post proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Canada Post to reduce the carbon intensity of its fleet
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Canada Post identified a range of material issues, such as responsible investment and procurement, sustainable products and services, operational safety, employee engagement, climate action. Among these, reducing the carbon intensity of its fleet stands out as a key material issue for Canada Post.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Canada Post engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Employees |
| Unions |
| Customers |
| Shareholder |
| Suppliers |
| Government |
| Nongovernmental organisations |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Canada Post engaged and consulted various stakeholders on a comprehensive list of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) topics. Senior management also received advice and feedback from ongoing stakeholder consultation with joint union committees as well as external subject matter experts, which included non-profit organisations and an advisory panel of Canadian accessibility leaders.
What actions were taken by Canada Post to reduce the carbon intensity of its fleet?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Canada Post reports that it took the following actions for reducing the carbon intensity of its fleet:
- Introducing hybrid vehicles
- Canada Post began introducing hybrid-electric (HEV) step vans in 2003 and progressively rolled out more over the past two decades. In 2019, Canada Post was the first Canadian company to employ at a large scale hybrid electric upfits to Ford Transit light delivery vehicles. In 2019, Canada Post deployed 374 hybrid-electric vehicles nationally, its largest purchase of alternative propulsion vehicles to date. Most of these replaced less efficient end-of-life cargo vans. Canada Post also began to purchase plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) for administrative uses. As Canada Post is continually evaluating ways to green its fleet at scale, hybrid-electric technology offers several benefits, including easy deployment across Canada in urban and remote communities alike. In 2020, Canada Post will be purchasing another 500 hybrid delivery vehicles, which are 20% more fuel and carbon-efficient than their traditional gasoline counterparts.
- Using zero-emission vehicles
- In 2011, in Vancouver and Ottawa, Canada Post piloted 10 fully battery electric vehicles (BEV) Transit Connects, and four battery electric eStar vans. However, these BEVs have since reached the end of their useful life and have been retired from Canada Post’s fleet. In 2020, Canada Post will invest $2.5 million in new models of zero emission delivery vehicles and charging infrastructure, as part of a pilot to inform future fleet renewal strategies. The vehicles purchased will be a mix of electric straight trucks, shunt trucks, full size vans and step vans. They will be deployed in provinces with the greenest electricity grids to test equipment reliability in a range of Canadian postal applications.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 305-1 Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions
Disclosure 305-1 Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Targets: 3.9
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- Targets: 12.4
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- Targets: 13.1
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
- Targets: 14.3
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
- Targets: 15.2
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Canada Post, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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