Customers choose climate protection project for Swiss Post

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http://www.swisspost.ch/post-startseite ... wsId=60485

Press release dated 29.01.2010
At Swiss Post, customers have been able to offset the CO2 effect of mailing letters, parcels and goods with the "pro clima" surcharge for the past year. The CO2 emissions resulting from the 55 million "pro clima" items mailed in 2009 will now be offset via a waste disposal gas power plant in Turkey, recognized by the World Bank as the best environmental project in 2009. This was decided by 61% of 2691 Swiss Post customers in an online vote.

Swiss Post customers wishing to offset the CO2 emissions generated by their mailings have been able to do so since February 2009 by paying a "pro clima" surcharge. Swiss Post will invest the surcharges in emission certificates for a climate protection project. The consignments will thus become carbon-neutral. Since its launch in February 2009, the "pro clima" trend has been encouraging: over 55 million items were mailed in a carbon-neutral manner in the first year. Swiss Post also makes use of "pro clima" and offsets the CO2 emissions that occur in transporting its own correspondence. Carbon-neutral consignments generated "pro clima" surcharges amounting to over CHF 700,000. Customers of Swiss Post voted online to choose the climate protection project for which Swiss Post will purchase the emissions certificates totalling around 12,000 tonnes of CO2. This is the same quantity of CO2 that would be released in burning heating oil from 181 tanker trucks. The decision – with 61% of the 2691 votes – was in favour of a waste disposal biogas project in Turkey.

Electricity from waste power plant in Turkey

Gases are collected at the Mamak waste disposal plant in Ankara province, and organic and syngas are produced. Gas turbines use it to produce electricity. For this purpose the disposal site was covered, a gravitational water drainage system was developed, and a sorting and recycling centre set up. The plant supplements conventional power plants in the region and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions thanks to renewable energies. Around 200 employees work at the waste disposal site, and they receive special training for operation and maintenance of the plant.

The plant is an example of waste management in Turkey and was recognized by the World Bank as the best environmental project in 2009. Together with the local authorities the operators launched a sensitization campaign for the local population on recycling and waste management. The project could not have been implemented without additional financing from the sale of emission certificates.

Emissions certificates and projects in Switzerland

Swiss Post is investing the entire "pro clima" surcharges from customers in the selected "Gold Standard" climate protection project in Turkey. The emissions from Swiss Post's own "pro clima" mailings will also be offset via the sale of emissions certificates from this project. Owing to the favourable price trend on the market for emissions certificates, Swiss Post is now in a position to invest a remaining portion of the surcharges from its own "pro clima" consignments in an additional climate protection project in Switzerland.

Systematic environmental strategy

Swiss Post is pursuing a systematic environmental strategy: it is minimizing its energy consumption as far as possible and replacing non-renewable energies with renewable ones. Customers can offset CO2 emissions from their remaining energy consumption via the "pro clima" offer. Swiss Post supports environmental projects with the independently monitored "Gold Standard". This highest quality seal ensures that the CO2 reduction projects result in a real reduction in greenhouse gases and promote sustainable development in the countries concerned. To date, no Gold Standard projects have been completed in Switzerland.