Posti's impact on climate change
In total, our greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 were approximately 268,540 tonnes
of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The figure includes the absolute emissions of our business in all of our countries of operation, including the acquisitions in 2022.
Emissions are divided into emissions from our own operations (Scopes 1 & 2) and emissions from the value chain (Scope 3). Scope 1 emissions are caused directly by our own operations — they are caused by the consumption of fuel by our own vehicles and properties and refrigerant leakages. Scope 2 emissions are, in turn, caused by the production of electricity and district heat that we use. Scope 3 emissions, in accordance with the calculation standard, are divided into 15 emission categories, of which we report the categories relevant to our operations.
Our own emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) accounted for just under 16% of our total emissions in 2022. Of these, 83% were generated by transport and 17% by properties. The emissions generated by our own vehicles were 35,470 tonnes of CO2e, down nearly 6% year-on-year. In the case of properties, the emissions amounted to 7,030 tonnes of CO2e. Property emissions decreased by nearly 29% year-on-year.
Emissions from the value chain (Scope 3) accounted for about 84% of our total emissions, a total of approximately 226,040 tonnes of CO2e. Emissions generated by the value chain increased by less than two from the previous year. The biggest source of emissions in the value chain was the fuels used by our partners and other outsourced transport services (43%). Emissions were also generated by other purchased products and services (35%), capital goods (9%), commuting (7%), production of fuels consumed and electricity and heat transmission losses (5%), and business travel (less than 1%).
Transport emission reductions
Posti exists to ensure that deliveries important to the sender and recipient are delivered where they are supposed to go, whether they are a postcard, a parcel from an online store, a truckload or internal material flow management of a production facility. During the year, our own vehicles were used to cover about 96 million kilometers, while the fleet of contract carriers and other partners covered approximately 130 million kilometers. This is equivalent to a total of traveling 5,600 times around the Earth.
Our investments in the electrification of transport are constantly growing. In 2022, we introduced more than 100 new electric vans in Finland. The first dozen of our partners' electric cars joined our network in Finland in late 2022.
The first electric cars were also introduced in Estonia and Latvia. At the end of 2022, more than 200 electric cars already transported Posti's deliveries every day, one of which was a truck. We have more than 2,000 different types of electrified means of transport, such as electric freight scooters, bikes and delivery carts. Posti already delivers to nearly half of households in basic delivery using electricity, and this is more than 90% in the capital region. The electricity used in our own and our partners' electric vehicles in Finland is renewable energy with guarantees of origin.
At the beginning of 2022, all of our gas vehicles were fully using biogas. We introduced nine new trucks (total number at the end of the year 28) powered by liquefied biogas (LBG) and two trucks powered by compressed biogas (CBG). The plan is to keep expanding the biogas fleet as the gas distribution infrastructure develops. More new gas filling stations will also be opened in the vicinity of the main road network this year. In general, an extensive station network contributes to an increase in gas-fueled trucks in heavy-duty traffic.
We also replaced our oldest diesel vehicles with newer and more fuel-efficient vehicles during 2022, as there are still limitations in the availability and operational characteristics of clean vehicles. In 2022, vehicle delivery schedules were delayed due to a global component shortage, which also delayed the orders of some clean vehicles ordered by Posti to 2023.
We increased the use of renewable diesel in our vehicles during 2022. Renewable fuel reduces the lifecycle fossil emissions of fuel consumption by up to 90%. With regard to our own vehicles, we increased the use of renewable diesel by more than 20% to just under 2 million liters by using renewable diesel on selected line haul routes, in regional transport and in mail delivery vehicles. Previously, we had already transferred the parcel distribution equipment not powered by electricity to renewable fuel. The use of renewable diesel by our partners is still low, but during 2022, it multiplied to nearly 130,000 liters per year. In all, the share of renewable fuels and electric vehicles in the total distance covered by our own fleet was around 20%.
However, a kilometer that is never driven produces the least emissions. Therefore, we continuously develop route optimization with target-oriented route planning and driving styles, as well as filling rates and packaging—as an inefficiently packed vehicle and transporting air between parcels or inside transport packages causes unnecessary driving.
Property emission reductions
Our properties from warehouses to distribution-fulfillment centers and service points — more than 500 operating locations in all — consumed approximately 78 GWh of electricity and approximately 59 GWh of district heat in all of our countries of operation combined last year. We constantly monitor energy efficiency in the buildings covered by our own energy contracts. Many of our small operating locations are leased, and energy is included in the lease agreement. For these, we estimate the consumption in our reporting. The total energy consumption of our properties decreased by 4% in 2022, even though we acquired new properties through acquisitions.
All of the electricity we consume in Finland is renewable — we also buy guarantees of origin for the properties in which electricity is included in the rent. The electricity used in Sweden and Norway is renewable, with the exception of the offices where electricity is included in the rent. The electricity used in some of our properties in Estonia and Lithuania is renewable. Altogether, almost 98% of the electricity we purchased was renewable in 2022. We also produce some electricity with solar power ourselves, and we are investigating the expansion of own renewable electricity production.
We started using renewable district heating in Finland and Sweden in 2021, and in 2022, we connected new sites to the renewable district heating network. The share of renewable district heating exceeded the amount of non-renewable district heating for the first time in December 2022. 42% of the district heating consumption during the year was renewable.
Posti is participating in a Finnish voluntary energy efficiency agreement, according to which Posti's aim is to reduce the energy consumption of its properties by 10.5% from the 2015 level by 2025. By the end of 2022, the reduction was already close to 20%, and the energy efficiency work will continue. In 2022, Posti joined the Down a Degree energy-saving campaign coordinated by Motiva, and as a result, the indoor temperatures of several of Posti’s properties were reduced. The total calculated savings from the campaign amounted to approximately 1.1 GWh.
In our new properties, we invest heavily in sustainability already in the design stage. In the spring of 2022, we opened a new 30,000-square meter warehouse in Sipoo. The warehouse's energy solution is based on geothermal heat and supplemented with solar energy. In addition, proactive building technology helps to reduce energy consumption.
Other climate efforts in the value chain
In 2022, the SBTi initiative approved Posti's net-zero target, according to which Posti must reduce the emissions generated by its entire value chain to zero by 2040. The main focus in the value chain's climate efforts is now on the transport operations of our partners, but in the coming years, we will also invest more heavily in investigating other sources of emissions in the value chain and reducing these emissions.
Clean vehicle roadmap
Posti has made a decision on the roadmap to a clean transport fleet in 2030. The implementation of the roadmap will help ensure that our transport operations are completely fossil-free by the end of the decade. The emissions target for 2030 has now been transformed into a concrete plan to help us move to a clean transport fleet.
According to the plan, over the next eight years, we will acquire up to a couple of thousand light electric vehicles, several hundred medium
heavy electricity- and biogas-powered trucks and transport vehicles, and hundreds of heavy-duty vehicles powered by biogas, electricity or hydrogen. In 2023, we will start building a roadmap for fossil-free transport in our partnership network together with our key partners.
