Postal Technology International Awards 2011

Environmental Achievement of the Year: Itella Corporation

Itella provides daily mail services nationwide in Finland, and offers services related to marketing, financial process outsourcing and service logistics solutions in 15 countries. Itella is dedicated to information and product flow management, and the company supports its customers to minimise the carbon dioxide footprint of the entire value chain.

“Environmentally friendly is a term not to be used lightly,” says Hanna Kaustia, Itella’s environment and corporate responsibility director. “Managing information and especially product flows inevitably has negative environmental effects, most significantly related to carbon dioxide emissions. Our environmental programme concentrates on minimising the effect our operations have on the climate and reducing the emissions of our customers. Setting ambitious goals on emission reduction encourages innovation, which results in better services for customers and a competitive edge for us. Energy efficiency also means supports efficiency.

“As a means to take full responsibility for our carbon emissions, Itella has offered all of its mail and parcel services in Finland carbon neutral since February 2011 – at no extra cost to the customer. We are the first in the world to do that. We are very committed to our targets on all levels of the organisation, and it is creating a lot of excitement that our customers share,” says Kaustia.

Itella’s customers are benefiting from the company’s focus on environmental responsibility, especially its dedication to being climate friendly, says Kaustia. “For one example, a big retail client was calculating its emissions related to subcontracted transportation and was getting ready to publish an environmental report. They were delighted to see what a big impact our carbon neutral shipments made in their company-wide carbon footprint. Our expertise in calculating transportation emissions has been highly valued by our customers,” she says.

This expertise is driven by Itella’s high level of commitment from its employees in all parts of the business. “I’m proud of the fact that Itella’s entire organisation has committed so strongly to our green initiatives,” explains Kaustia. “Sustainability aspects have been integrated in our business strategy. Our personnel have given an active input on all levels. In our personnel survey, for instance, Itella’s sustainability efforts have been given high scores year after year. Green topics matter to our people and they want to participate.

“Winning in this competition doesn’t mean crossing the finish line. The journey has continued for a long time and it will keep going. But it is absolutely great to hear to our efforts have not gone unnoticed!” she concludes

ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST:

• Itella Corporation
• La Poste
• Deutsche Post DHL