16 November 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
In recent days An Post celebrated a series of investments it has made in Cork with a gathering of key Cork dignitaries, elected representatives and members of the business community. David McRedmond, CEO, An Post proudly announced the roll out of the organisation’s e-vehicle fleet across Cork City, committing to an emission-free service to ensure that Cork City centre is fully electrified with letter, parcel deliveries and collections. The emission free delivery service in Cork marks over 1,000 eVehicles driving emission free deliveries across the cities of Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny and Waterford. An Post is the first postal service in the world to deliver an emission-free postal service across five cities.
Lord Mayor of Cork City Councillor Colm Kelleher welcomed An Post’s ongoing commitment to building and supporting a more sustainable Cork saying “An Post has been part of life and commerce in Cork for generations and has a long and a proud history of serving the community and supporting businesses in Cork. We know that An Post is transforming the way they do business in Cork having opened its Cork distribution centre which involved merging the two centres into one, allowing An Post to deliver on their promise to electrify the city fleet. An Post definitely plays their part and makes a real difference in the life of Cork right now and will continue to do so for generation to come.
David McRedmond, CEO, An Post proudly announced the rollout of the organisation’s e-vehicle fleet across Cork City. Pictured:
Joan Lucey, Vibes & Scribes
Grace Walsh, Imagination Library (rt)
and
Rob Horgan, Velo Coffee
Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision
“The series of investments being made by An Post in Cork, including the rollout of their e-vehicle fleet across the city, comes at a time when post offices are developing as important service centres for individual customers and SMEs particularly in relation to financial services and the growth of eCommerce. An Post is playing a crucial role in Cork’s future as a sustainable city and Cork looks forward to continuing our work together towards a strong and sustainable network.”
During a week of international commitments to climate change, An Post is celebrating major gains across its own sustainability strategy as it concluded its COP26 Roadshow across Limerick, Galway and Cork. Speaking from Cork today, An Post announced that it was awarded the accolade of being ranked the third most sustainable postal service across the globe by the industry’s trade body, the International Postal Corporation (IPC). Last year An Post was ranked 13th, with the rise to third place based on An Post’s world-leading rollout of electric vehicles; initiatives to support sustainable communities; and a broadly based Sustainability action plan.
In further developments to their climate change action plan, An Post has also announced the results of their carbon cutting solutions for their HGV fleet. An Post is the first company in Ireland to trial the use of HVO (Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil) as truck fuel which will yield an estimated full year reduction in C02 of 90% and save 265 tons of C02 on estimated emissions of 295 tons using Diesel. The trial took place across An Post’s entire Galway truck fleet over the past two months and it was announced today that this is now being extended to its Waterford and Cork fleets.
Speaking from An Post’s COP26 Roadshow which concluded in Cork today, David McRedmond, CEO, An Post said: “To be third in the world in our industry for sustainability is a great achievement for An Post, and for its owners and customers, the people of Ireland. Our sustainability strategy has always been about delivering results and driving action across the length and breadth of Ireland – whether that is in carbon reduction, building sustainable communities or building a fair and equitable workplace. I’m proud of the staff at An Post who have achieved the transition to zero emission fleets across all our Cities. “
Debbie Byrne, Managing Director, An Post Retail spoke about An Post Retail and the ongoing transformation of the network. “An Post provides a vital national infrastructure for communities. We are committed to building and supporting sustainable communities, partnering with postmasters and retailers, to offer new modernised services and post office formats. The continued growth of An Post Money provides citizens with easy access to everyday banking services, no matter where they live, through our network of over 900 post offices nationwide. Our ever-expanding range of financial products and services support the needs of any modern rural or urban community around Ireland, from family members, young and old, to small business owners. Products range from digitally supported current accounts, to competitive personal loans and two different credit cards. Our market leading green loan allows customers to create a cosier, warmer homer through the An Post Green Hub one-stop-shop home retro-fitting service. As International travel re-opens, we look forward to welcoming customers back with our 0% commission fees on cash foreign exchange and offering our fantastic 16 currency multi-currency card with its 24/7 helpline and unique emergency cash feature. As well as the wide range of An Post Money products and services available, personal, and small business customers of AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank can avail of everyday banking at all our post offices, six days a week.”
Debbie Byrne added: “At An Post we recognise the value placed on cities such as Cork – being able to live, work and do business effectively. We are committed to building a sustainable and successful national post office network that is modern, relevant, re-invigorated and provides community banking on the doorstep for our customers, as well as an ever-expanding suite of mails and e-commerce products and services for SMEs. Our significant investment in online and digital ensures we can better meet the needs of our customers, coupled with our unique human touch through our trusted branches and Postmaster-run post offices.
Garrett Bridgeman, Managing Director of An Post Commerce spoke about the accelerated transformation of the letters, parcels, and logistics business. “An Post has adapted to meet the massive surge in e-commerce brought about by changing shopping behaviour as well as by the pandemic. We are already planning additional capacity to ensure that we are futureproofed to meet the entire country’s needs and demands for e-commerce. We have completely digitised our eCommerce platform to allow for seamless and time-efficient solutions for shippers and senders in Cork and across Ireland.”
Among the attendants at the event were the President of Cork Business Association, Eoin O’Sullivan, and the audience heard from local Cork business leaders such as Rob Horgan, Velo Coffee and Joan Lucey, Managing Director, Vibes & Scribes who spoke about how An Post Commerce helped them transform their business and was their stalwart partner during the pandemic and Grace Waller, Let’s Grow Together with responsibility for the Imagination Library who underlined how An Post supports Sustainable Cities and Communities. Post Offices are now essential partners of Irish SMEs offering discounts on parcels and stamps, reliable facilities for accessing coin and depositing cash as well as a range of everyday banking services.
