TNT Post to help business mailers get greener

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 18-Jun-08, 12:30

LONDON - TNT Post is launching a service for its business customers to help them measure and reduce the carbon impact of their mailing activity.

TNT Post customers will be able to access a web-based carbon calculator, to measure the carbon impact of all contributing mail fulfilment elements used to produce and deliver their mailings.

The calculator was developed by The CarbonNeutral Company and Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.

The service comes in response to the government's target of reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 and the Direct Marketing Association's 2003 agreement with the government, which commits the direct marketing industry to reduce its environmental impact over the next 10 years.

The aim is to reduce landfill, to benefit the environment, while also leading to more effectively targeted direct marketing.

The calculator takes into account the entire mailing chain, from the type of paper, ink and packaging used, to the fulfilment, data cleansing, undeliverables capturing, transportation and delivery of each mail item.

The result is a calculation of mailing emissions, broken down into carbon contributing factors.

Once identified, TNT Post recommends how these individual carbon levels can be reduced by, for example, highlighting the importance of using recycled materials for mailings and recommending suppliers who can print on sustainable and recycled materials including Forest Stewardship Council sourced paper for existing mail packs.

Sue Welland, founder and creative director of The CarbonNeutral Company, said: "If all of TNT Post's customers sending addressed mail were to use the CarbonNeutral service which we underpin, there is the potential to make 160m postal items a month CarbonNeutral; which will make great strides in reaching the direct mail industry's carbon emission goals."

The CarbonNeutral mailing service also highlights the importance of encouraging end-user recycling with the Recycle Now logo on all mailings and associated material.

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post, said: "Our goals are in line with the DMA's carbon emissions agreement, and at the core is an aim to help the industry reduce carbon emissions and promote recycling -- both in terms of mailing with recycled materials and influencing end customers to recycle mail items."