As part of Global Climate Week activities, UPU International Bureau staff in Berne, Switzerland, today gathered for the unveiling of an eight-metre-long banner specially created to support the UN-led Seal the Deal campaign.
The Seal the Deal campaign aims to mobilize millions of people in asking world leaders to reach a fair and effective deal at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. The banners (one in English and one in French) are designed as giant envelopes addressed to WORLD LEADERS, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK and carry the message SAVE THE PLANET. Over the next weeks, the UPU will invite postal sector members to stamp the banners with Seal the Deal logos and sign their names.One banner will be used at next week’s POST-EXPO 2009, one of the largest postal technology shows held annually, in Hannover, Germany. The other banner will be used during the UPU’s next Council of Administration, taking place in October and November. Thousands of postal sector stakeholders attend both events. Many International Bureau staff wore green to show support for Global Climate Week and the opening climate change summit hosted by the UN secretary-general in New York. Several Posts are using energy-efficient vehicles and renewable energy in their daily operations. To help more operators to reduce their carbon emissions, the UPU is producing the postal sector’s first global carbon footprint inventory, with the assistance of member countries and their postal operators, regional postal organizations and UN bodies such as United Nations Environment Programme. The UPU will participate in the Copenhagen conference as an observer. As well, the UPU will soon make a guide available for Posts to better inventory and quantify their greenhouse gas emissions.