As the United Nations sustainable development conference (Rio+20) gets underway in Brazil, Posts worldwide are contributing to economic and social development and environmental protection, key pillars of global development and poverty reduction.
Posts are keen to do their part for sustainable development (Photo: Swedish Post)
The Post of the conference’s host country, Correios, is a case in point. Correios’s efforts in the field of financial inclusion have been exemplary and the Post is credited with bringing basic financial services to the majority of Brazilians. In the 90s, millions of Brazilians were outside the financial fold, leading the government and the central bank to enable non-banking networks, such as the Post, to become banking agents in remote areas and democratize access to financial services. Through its partnership with a commercial bank, Correios opened 10 million accounts in less than 10 years. Today, anyone with a national identity card and tax number can open a bank account in Correios’ Banco Postal’s 6,200 banking points across the country.
“Correios’s initiatives are consistent with our government’s objectives to realize the UN Millennium Development Goals, which fit in nicely with all the pillars of sustainable development," said its chairman, Wagner Pinheiro de Oliveira.
Committed
Many Posts are also conscious of their positions as large employers with wide public reach to promote AIDS awareness and social inclusion and several – such as those of Nigeria and Kenya - already have their own HIV-workplace policies. Others are developing similar policies as part of the global campaign launched jointly by the UPU, UNAIDS, the International Labour Organization and UNI Global Union in 2009.
Other countries stepping up to the plate include Japan, which has generously financed the UPU’s sustainable development activities to the tune of more than one million CHF during the past few years. This underlines the Asian nation’s commitment to encourage other countries and their Posts towards a sustainable business models. “Sustainable development is a priority for all organizations,” says Jun Takamoto, environment and sustainable development expert at the International Bureau seconded by the Japanese ministry of communications. “The postal sector is a very influential sector, with a lot of direct interface with the public, which is why the postal sector should focus on being more sustainable and lead by example.”
Posts have also increasingly turned their attention to protecting the environment. Tanzania Post and La Poste du Togo are running an increasing number of offices on solar energy. Swiss Post, La Poste (France) and bpost (Belgium) have switched most of their fleet to electric vehicles. The Posts of El Salvador and Ecuador have learned that long-term energy saving can be as simple as changing a light bulb.
The UPU regularly surveys its member countries on their carbon emissions and shares best practices to help them reduce their impact on the environment.
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