Royal Mail has cut its average carbon emissions per parcel delivered by 20% over the past year, according to its latest environmental, social and governance (ESG) report.
The report, published on June 26, shows carbon emissions per parcel fell to 165gCO2e from 206gCO2e in the prior year. This is considerably lower than other major UK parcel operators, who reported emissions of between 308g and 547gCO2e per parcel, according to Citizens Advice’s 2024 parcels league table.
According to Royal Mail, the reduction was driven by the company’s increased use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) – a low-emission biofuel – in its fleet of large trucks; the deployment of 1,900 new electric vans; energy efficiency measures across its estate; and a strong reduction in its Scope 3 emissions, including almost halving the number of domestic flights.
Alistair Cochrane, interim CEO at Royal Mail, commented, “We’re immensely proud of our sustainability progress, which has once again exceeded our expectations. We are the UK’s greenest delivery company for parcels and letters and are reaping the rewards of our work to make our fleet and estate more environmentally friendly, on top of the benefits of our unique ‘feet on the street’ delivery model. Whilst there’s still lots more work to be done, this huge achievement reflects our commitment to being net zero by 2040.”
Royal Mail’s total emissions were 1,173KtCO2e in 2024-25, representing an overall reduction of 25% on its base year in 2020-21. Scope 1-2 emissions decreased by 27% against the base year, while Scope 3 emissions fell by 24% compared with the base year. The company has pledged to reach net zero by 2040 as part of its Steps to Zero environment strategy and has set interim targets to 2030.
