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In 2011, the Corporate Social Responsibility working group of the European Social Dialogue Committee for the postal sector took up work on environmental issues with extended scopes - not only highly technical details but also began to look at practices, employees’ engagement, communication and practical environmental policies. The result of the research of the working group by questionnaire was complemented by external and national information with high level expertises in a technical workshop. The result was that ongoing transition into green policies and awareness building takes place in the sector as the business has a high impact on the environment by using all kind of transport, paper, electricity, carbon and oil, etc. The focus of the postal companies lies on carbon efficiency and transparency on carbon footprints, the work on higher sustainability by green solutions, green products and trainings like eco-driving. The sector sees the conflict between cost efficiency and cheap products and sustainable and responsible products by customers, NGOs, civil society and governments. “We can conclude there is a huge commitment and we created awareness and transparency on this topic to reduce the impact of our business”, says Heike Ausprung, chair of the CSR working group.



“CSR only works if there is social dialogue at all levels otherwise it is only a PR exercise. Sectoral social dialogue is the best way to include the most citizens and workers”, underlines Oliver Röthig, regional secretary of UNI Europa. All guest speakers from the social partners and the European Commission emphasized the importance to include green policies in their agenda. It has to be joint effort and needs the commitment of the social partners to achieve the aims set in the strategies for 2020 and 2050. “We need another economic agenda which issues the environmental aspect. The statement is part of this activity”, says Judith Kirton-Darling, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC. The inclusion of the workers representative and trade unions as well as training and education of workers will be crucial for the success of these efforts. The mission of the CSR working group was to provide a platform of mapping the situation on both sides on environmental issues and provide a platform to exchange good practices. “We will continue on this topic in the postal sector even if the direct work in the SDC won't be dedicated anymore especially on it”, says Montserrat Mir, spokesperson of the CSR working group.