PSC LIVE: Sustainability – Royal Mai’s Green Supply Strategy
At Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: Sustainability, Edenir Nunes Chrysostali, SRM Director and Scope 3 Lead at Royal Mail, outlined the company’s ambitious approach to measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions.
As a major logistics provider, Royal Mail faces unique sustainability challenges, but through supplier engagement, enhanced reporting and strategic partnerships, it is making significant progress.
Understanding the scale of Scope 3 emissions
Edenir began by providing an overview of Royal Mail’s vast network, which delivers to 32 million homes and employs 130,000 people.
"Our carbon footprint in the last reporting year was 1.1 million tonnes of CO₂," she stated, equating it to the emissions of 238,000 passenger vehicles or 1.2 million flights between London and New York.
While many organisations focus on direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2), Scope 3 emissions – those generated across the supply chain – present a greater challenge.
"Scope 3 accounts for 66% of our total emissions, and international airfreight is our biggest contributor," Edenir explained. Given Royal Mail’s extensive use of air transport, tackling this issue is a priority.
However, Scope 3 responsibility is often unclear within businesses.
"It’s crucial to establish ownership. Everyone in an organisation plays a role, but without clear accountability, progress stalls," she emphasised.
Royal Mail addressed this by integrating Scope 3 into its procurement and supplier relationship management functions.
Enhancing reporting and supplier engagement
Accurate measurement is key to driving down emissions.
"We deep-dived into our data, reviewing how emissions were calculated and identifying areas for improvement," Edenir shared.
One major shift was moving from chargeable weight to actual weight for airfreight emissions, providing a more precise footprint.
To enhance supplier engagement, Royal Mail mapped its supply chain, identifying 100 key suppliers with the highest environmental impact.
"We prioritised six suppliers for our first engagement phase, working with them to understand their sustainability efforts and challenges," she said.
While some suppliers were already advanced in sustainability, others needed more guidance.
Royal Mail also revamped its procurement processes, embedding environmental criteria into supplier evaluations.
"10% of procurement scoring now considers environmental factors, ensuring sustainability is a key decision-making factor," Edenir revealed.
Additionally, the company aligned its supplier code of conduct with best practices, integrating ESG requirements into contracts.
Practical steps towards carbon reduction
Royal Mail is implementing tangible actions to cut emissions. One of the most significant initiatives is reducing reliance on airfreight.
"We've already cut 16 internal flights and, in April, we’re removing two more. This alone will contribute 4-5% towards our 25% emissions reduction target by 2030," Edenir stated.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is another area of exploration, although its viability remains under discussion.
"Airfreight remains our biggest challenge, but eliminating or reducing it brings substantial emissions savings," she noted.
Packaging and materials also play a role in Scope 3 emissions. Royal Mail is conducting a full review of its packaging, ensuring it balances carbon reduction with circularity and waste minimisation.
"We need to ensure that reducing waste doesn’t inadvertently increase carbon emissions," Edenir explained.
Building a sustainable supply chain for the future
Looking ahead, Royal Mail is focused on upskilling its workforce, equipping teams with carbon literacy training to drive sustainability across the business. The company is also strengthening supplier partnerships, encouraging collaborative innovation to reduce emissions.
"This is an ongoing journey," Edenir concluded.
"We now have a clear understanding of our priorities, improved reporting accuracy and have embedded sustainability into procurement. The next step is driving meaningful reductions in collaboration with our suppliers."
By tackling Scope 3 emissions head-on, Royal Mail is setting a precedent for large-scale logistics providers striving to achieve net-zero targets.
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