Leticia Martín, Director of Corporate Communication and Brand at CTT Expresshas spoken with Corresponsables about the ESG policies of the express parcel company, the role of technology and innovation in the development and implementation of its efficient route strategies, and the future plans to continue improving the sustainability and efficiency of the company.
CTT Express has carried out important investments in technology to improve delivery processes, gain productivity, and reduce the environmental impact of each delivery. Thanks to intelligent systems last mile delivery optimizationyour drivers can configure the best route, reducing distances and times and thus reducing emissions.
What are the bases of CTT Express’ ESG policies?
CTT Express is part of a large Portuguese group, Grupo CTT, which has more than 500 years of history. In fact, it is the oldest post office in Europe, and is very clear about its principles in defense of the environment, in its social and governance policies. The company has a plan that is meeting milestone by milestone and that responds to those three dimensions that are very important to them. As an express parcel subsidiary of this group at the Iberian level, at CTT Express we are also gradually implementing this plan.
Our plans are very ambitious. In the area of sustainability we have a plan in place called “Faster, Better and Greener”with which we want to achieve decarbonization of 100% of our fleet of vehicles for the last mile, by 2030. And 50% of this in 2025. To achieve this we are analyzing our fleet, which is not our own fleet, we have suppliers specialized in delivery, which means there are many agents involved in this project. We are talking to them, categorizing our vehicles, and looking at their life cycle to determine how we can tackle this ambitious project.
It is important to say that urgent transport helps decongest the roads. A van that delivers about 100 or 120 shipments a day at Christmas prevents that large number of private vehicles from going out to shopping centers, far from the cities, or other places, to do their shopping. Although we are aware of our responsibility with the environment, it is important to highlight that e-commerce and express parcel companies We are an agent that helps promote sustainability by favoring these deliveries, designed and optimized to avoid private trips.
How does CTT Express manage to design and optimize its delivery routes to achieve a reduction in its carbon footprint?
At CTT Express we always say that more than a parcel company we are a technology company. We invest a lot in ITespecially in the one that affects three key areas for us.
On the one hand, the communication with recipients and drivers. On the other hand, our route optimization software. An intelligent system that learns from other more experienced delivery drivers and is configured to help and guide, recommending drivers the best route with the fewest kilometers. This makes delivery faster and more effective, and drivers can return sooner, while reducing their learning curve.
Thirdly, all automations which we have in our 56 own distribution centers throughout Spain (plus those we have in Portugal), most of which, more than 25, integrate an Artificial Intelligence system that allows us to guarantee the best ranking system to ensure the best quality of service. In Madrid, for example, it allows up to 20,000 packages to be classified per hour. Thus, this technology allows us to guarantee the traceability of shipments and the route, optimizing times plant handling and distribution.
What have been the key strategies that CTT Express has implemented to achieve a reduction in the use of plastics and paper?
Plastic and cardboard are materials that we use a lot, as well as wood since we work with pallets. Regarding the latter, for example, we have a policy, and a process, of which we are very proud. When traveling so many kilometers and with so much movement, the pallets end up breaking, but At CTT Express we no longer buy palletsbut we have a team specialized in repairing themrestore and recompose them to continue using them.
In addition to pallets, we use other types of elements that help us containerize the merchandise, avoiding the use of shrink plastic. They are products made of a more resistant plastic, which allows many more uses than normal film plastic that ends up breaking. And then, at the end of the useful life of these plastics or cardboard, we have compacters, plastic collection and recycling services implemented in all our facilities. On the other hand, our packaging envelopes, with which all recipients receive our merchandise, are made of recycled and recyclable plastic, and have the German Blue Angel certification.
Internally, we work on awareness of paper use. Our drivers work with PDAs, and people who work in our own centers, in offices and in administrative tasks, have programs and software to do their work without having to print documents. We try to raise awareness to avoid the use of paper that is not absolutely necessary.
How has CTT Express measured the environmental impact of these reductions in terms of carbon footprint and conservation of natural resources?
We are working on it. Compensating the carbon footprint and analyzing the data is a complex issue, since there are a multitude of ways to compensate it. Our Operations and Quality teams, as well as all the people in the group who help us work on this milestone, with a team specialized in sustainability, they are analyzing the data. If it corresponds to the kilometer traveled, the emission, the plastic, etc., to see how we can compensate for this impact. As well as, in terms of benefit for the environment, of all the actions that we are carrying out in terms of reduction, recycling, reuse and repair.
How does CTT Express promote environmental awareness and education among its employees and customers in relation to these initiatives?
We have several internal communication actions. Taking advantage of the fact that Recycling Day and Environment Day are very close in time, we organized the call “Green Week in CTT”. We changed our corporate color, which is red, to CTT green and carried out different actions. For example, this year we had several live talks with experts related to the environment that they gave us the tips to avoid using more paper than necessary. Also We talk to the people who repair and reuse pallets to give visibility to their work, and so that all employees, suppliers and collaborators knew what our repair techniques are. And we made a collection of mobile phones and PDAsold or broken, and we send them to an organization that dismantles these elements, to raise funds for an NGO, through their sale, while giving them a second life.
We carry out various similar internal communication initiatives, and the participation of our clients and our staff, to raise awareness about the importance of the environment and the responsible use of resources.
What outstanding good practices are they carrying out in the area of their social action?
This year we have carried out two initiatives that I personally feel very proud of. One has been with Junior Achievement Foundationwith whom we are immersed in a project that has already concluded its first phase and will begin its second phase in February or March.
The first phase has been the job orientation program “Partners for a day”, in which different 4th ESO/Baccalaureate and FP students have come to visit us, from the educational centers that have signed up for this initiative. They have visited our facilities in Madrid, Granada, or Zaragoza, among others, to learn about our day-to-day life, and thus be able to make a more informed decision about their professional future. In Madrid, for example, we received about 20 students who were in the warehouse, and in the Human Resources, Finance, Communication, Operations, or Quality departments, trying to gather all the information on how to work in a company, to decide which way to go. where they want to direct their future. The feedback has been very positive.
In the second phase of the project, we will be the ones who will travel to the participating schools to visit the youngest students, and tell them how a community works, how to work in a company, the use of resources, money, etc. In short, so that they can spend a different day, during which I am sure that we will be able to establish a beautiful relationship.
Regarding the second of the projects, in which we are currently immersed, is the collaboration with Martita Ortega, champion and reference of women’s padel in our country, and doctor at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital. We participate in your initiative Give smiles, which takes place at Christmas, and collects new toys, both in the paddle tennis centers and through their social networks, for children hospitalized during the holidays in five hospitals in the Community of Madrid. Martita Ortega contacted us to help her deliver toys to these hospitals, but we saw that we could do much more. So we opened a call to collect toys among our employees, customers and recipients. On December 18, 30 volunteers classified by age and hospital, and wrapped all the gifts, which will then be delivered to make the children who are going to spend these holidays within the four walls of a hospital a little happier.
What other plans or initiatives does CTT Express have to continue improving its sustainability and efficiency in the coming years?
We will continue with our plan to electrify 100% of the fleet by 2030we will continue betting on the recycled materials for our shipments, as well as with the awareness actions internal. We also have a program volunteering that we have started this year with Junior Achievement, and with Marta Ortega. And during next year and the following year, more associations will be incorporated that help us feel proud of continuing to do something for the community and society.
Regarding the area of governance, we have a series of policies within the group that help to improve it, promote social peace within the organization, and also health coverage issues. We are focusing on the mental health of employees and teams, in good governance plans, and corporate governance; as well as the ethical codes and all the tools and means of communication so that employees can express their concerns, suggestions and problems, in order to solve them. So we are constantly advancing in this sense, we are a very concerned and conscious company, and we are making a great effort to incorporate new initiatives every year.
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