Public Vote on Climate Protection Project for Swiss Post

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For the past year, customers of Swiss Post have had the opportunity to send their letters, parcels and goods consignments with the "pro clima" surcharge, thereby offsetting the associated CO2 emissions. These surcharges have been collected and are to be invested in a climate protection project. The onus is now on the customers of Swiss Post. Customers can vote online to determine, in which Gold Standard climate project they think Swiss Post should invest the "pro clima" surcharges collected in 2009.

Customers wishing to offset the CO2 emissions generated by their mailings have been able to do so since February 2009 by paying a "pro clima" surcharge. Swiss Post also makes use of "pro clima" and offsets the CO2 emissions that occur in transporting its own correspondence. It invests the collected surcharges in emission certificates for a climate protection project, which would otherwise not have been possible without additional funding. The consignments thus become carbon-neutral. With more than 55 million consignments and 100 business customers to its name, "pro clima" has achieved gratifying results.

Three projects for selection

Swiss Post is pursuing a consistent environmental strategy: it is reducing energy consumption as far as possible and replacing energy from non-renewable energy sources with renewable energy. By way of "pro clima", customers can offset CO2 emissions resulting from the remaining energy consumption. The "pro clima" steering committee has presently earmarked three projects, on which the public will have the opportunity to cast their votes on the Swiss Post portal from 18 – 27 January. The following projects are up for the vote.

Electricity from harvest waste in India

At the biomass power plant in Karnataka, harvest waste such as sugar cane or coconut leaves are burned and used to generate electricity. The power plant has an output of 4.5 megawatts and, in particular, can process biomass with a low thermal value. The electricity generated in this way is fed into the local supply grid, replacing electricity produced from fossil fuels and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Electricity from waste disposal gas in Turkey

Gases are collected at the Mamak waste disposal plant in Ankara province, and biogas and syngas are produced. Gas turbines use it to produce electricity. For this purpose the disposal site was covered, a drainage system for leakage water was developed, and a sorting and recycling centre set up. The facility replaces conventional power plants in the region and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions thanks to renewable energies.

Wind power in China

40 wind turbines assembled in China with a total capacity of around 50 megawatts create 110 gigawatts of electricity each year and replace electricity from CO2-intensive coal plants in northern China. The wind park is connected to the northern Chinese grid. The plant supports the development of energy production with renewable energies in China and the related development of technology.

"Gold Standard" projects

Swiss Post only supports environmental projects with the independently monitored "Gold Standard". This currently highest quality seal ensures that the CO2 reduction projects result in a real reduction in greenhouse gases and promote sustainable development in the countries concerned. To date, no Gold Standard projects have so far been initiated in Switzerland.

Source: Swiss Post