- Each week 1.7million customers visit our network of over 1,000 post offices nationwide.
- Each day we deliver 2.5million mail items to 2.1million business and residential addresses.
- Our core business includes the provision of mails, retail and financial services.
The scale of our operations, whether through our mails or retail networks, provides opportunities to make a positive impact on society.
Our work with the International Post Corporation (IPC)
An Post is a member of the International Post Corporation (IPC) through which we work with other posts globally.
A major sustainability initiative within the group is the IPC Environmental Monitoring and Management System (EMMS). This voluntary reporting on our carbon emissions began in 2008. It is an important part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and has saved the global postal sector more than US$400m.
The 2011 Postal Sector Sustainability Annual Report is titled ‘The sustainable advantage: the business case for going green’. This report details carbon use and initiatives across participating posts.
A highlight of this year’s report is that An Post along with the other members has eliminated 329,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2010.
Our Sustainability vision:
‘Sustainability is a central element of our business success; delivering high quality and affordable services, and respecting the communities and the environment in which we operate.
This principle, which is one of our core values, guides our ongoing relationships with our customers, employees and suppliers and reflects our commitment in this regard.’
In our day to day business, Sustainability at An Post is about actions which:
- Benefit staff and customers
- Make financial sense to the company
- Protect the environment
What are we doing?
An Post is working toward managing Sustainability as part of the day to day business of the Company.
Since 2007 our focus has been to make Sustainability a working component of our business approach. We manage this task through the Company’s change management or Transformation Programme. Making Sustainability a Reality is one of the Company’s key strategic projects. It identifies and progresses work in areas where An Post can act responsibly within the business.
The project has business aims such as cutting costs and decreasing our carbon emissions throughout the Company. These actions also help An Post to achieve our goal of becoming a Respected Corporate Citizen and have a positive effect on our reputation and brand. What makes these outcomes sustainable, however, is that they protect the environment, develop staff and serve customers better.
Our Environment
We work with our sector body, the International Post Corporation (IPC) to benchmark the Company’s performance in relation to carbon and energy use. We have been participating in the IPC’s Environmental Management and Monitoring System (EMMS) since 2008. In this time we have improved our rating within the sector by focusing on improvements across the business, but particularly in relation to the amount of energy consumed and carbon created by our buildings and fleet.
Energy Use by An Post
The heating and lighting of facilities and the use of fuel witin our transport fleet make up the bulk of the Company’s energy use. In 2010, An Post consumed 125MWh of energy, made up of 21.6MWh of electricity and 103MWh of fossil fuels.
Carbon Use by An Post
In 2010 the members of the IPC EMMS, 23 postal operators from around the world, achieved an average carbon management proficiency score of 61%. We perform favourably in relation to this average and during 2010 we reduced our Carbon Dioxide emissions by 9,000tonnes. This reduction was due to a switch by the Company to 100% renewable electricity.
Waste Management
We implemented a waste management system across the Company in 2010, segregating and streaming waste. We have achieved a 90% recycling rate as a result of this activity.
Our Staff
Living the Values
Living the Values was a company-wide programme of structured staff workshops to ensure that staff at all levels:
- know and understand the Company’s Mission, Vision and Values
- had an opportunity to discuss them and take action to ensure we behave in accordance with our values, as they apply in the workplace.
The programme which ran from summer 2009 – autumn 2011promoted good discussion and communication and complemented other An Post initiatives in helping staff to understand fully the importance of providing ongoing service excellence to our customers. Participants set a personal goal as well as two team actions, which would help them to better Live the Values in their workplace.
Your Voice Matters
The 2011 Employee Survey was conducted to gain an understanding of the current experience of what working for An Post means to staff and their awareness of the Company’s strategic direction. Towers Watson was engaged by An Post to conduct the survey and to analyse and report on the results. An Post did not have access to individual survey responses.
There was a 45% response rate which falls within the range of response rates in postal and logistics companies.
In 2012 An Post will develop action plans based on the results to address issues where staff indicated the company can improve the employee experience.
Health awareness
An Post provides an Occupational Health & Support service for all employees.
In partnership with the An Post group of Unions, Occupational Health & Support has issued a number booklets to:
- raise awareness among our staff of health issues
- support good health choices.
An Post in the Community
We are one of Ireland’s largest companies, highly visible through our network of post offices, fleet of vehicles and uniformed staff.
Our touch points with the community are very important to the social fabric of Irish life and we are aware of our role as a trusted third party in the delivery of mail, financial & savings products and a range of other retail services.
Helping with adult literacy
We support our Company’s role in the community with a number of carefully chosen sponsorships. Our support for the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) is well known and regarded very positively by our customers. The issue of literacy awareness is a natural fit with our business and a real area of need for communities. To date over 13,000 people have used the NALA helpline (1800 20 20 65) to access help and information in relation to their literacy difficulties.
To get help with reading, writing and working with numbers visit www.takethefirststep.ie.
Cycling in the community
Irish cycling receives our support from elite to grass roots level. This activity allows us to promote our brand in a dynamic way and is a positive association for the Company. Cycling in Ireland is experiencing a massive growth with thousands of people getting on their bikes for health and fitness, leisure, economic and environmental reasons. We support the best Irish riders, competing in Europe through our support for the An Post Sean Kelly team.
We also sponsor the premier Irish cycling event, the An Post Rás. This brings elite, international competition to Ireland, every May. It is an important source of revenue, entertainment and tradition for the towns which play host each year. The Rás is steeped in history, and taps into the grassroots cycling club structure as well as local authority, Garda, local business and volunteering to create a uniquely Irish event.
The An Post Cycle Series is a phenomenon in Irish Cycling with five events for cyclists of all abilities between May and September each year. We sponsor the Series in association with the Irish Sports Council. In 2011 over 13,000 people of all ages and fitness levels took part. The events bring tourism, trade and repeat visitors to the host towns. The high standard of organisation and enjoyment for everyone taking part is key to the success of the Series. This is largely due to the co-ordination of local business, voluntary and local authority efforts by the Local Sports Partnerships who manage and deliver the events.
The An Post Cycle Series encourage cyclists of all ages and ability to get on their bike. These local cycling events are a fun day out for all and a serious challenge for some.
Our Customers
We provide a universal postal service which means that we deliver mail to every home and business address in the country, five days per week. This service is identified by our customers as their expectation of us – the delivery of on time services at the right price.
We provide a mixture of every day, affordable, services which are accessible to every member of the community. This means that we offer people a choice of ways to communicate, save, to pay bills in part or in full, to manage their money and to receive payments whether they have a bank account or are unbanked. This model is based on offering both business and personal customers as much control as possible over their finances, bills and communications needs. Our offering serves the community well, as it has done for the past 25 years under the An Post brand, and for the last 350 years of the Irish postal service.
We receive over 1.7million customer visits each week. Consultation with customers shows overall satisfaction with the organisation in 2011 remains very strong at 96%; consistent with previous years.