That actions speak louder than words is the Universal Postal Union's message on World Environment Day. The UPU has thus partnered with PostEurop - one of its restricted unions - and the International Post Corporation to coordinate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by the postal sector.
The partners have been working on a common GHG Inventory Standard in recent weeks. This will contain the main common principles for quantitative reporting. It will be made available to the 191 UPU member countries at the beginning of 2010, resulting in a harmonized methodology to calculate actual emissions. In recent years, Posts have become more aware of their environmental impact and the importance of prevention and mitigation. The UPU’s main effort in these areas is the GHG Global Overview and Mitigation Project (GGOM). Through this, the UPU is committed to helping all its member countries to find ways to measure and reduce the postal sector’s carbon footprint. The first phase is to establish a regional mapping of emissions from the postal sector. Sixty member countries are already taking part in this initiative. Within the GGOM’s framework, the UPU is working with organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, other restricted unions and further stakeholders. UN World Environment Day: http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/UN global campaign “Seal the Deal”: http://www.sealthedeal2009.org/