Royal Mail has opened what it describes as the UK’s greenest delivery office, with the Harehills site in West Yorkshire operating solely on renewable energy and serving its routes with a fully electric fleet of 19 vans.
The new Harehills Delivery Office represents a milestone in Royal Mail’s wider drive to reduce transport-related emissions. The fleet is powered via a purchased 100% renewable electricity supply, while the building itself is heated using an air source heat pump, eliminating the need for gas or oil heating.
Helen Harper, customer operations manager at Harehills Delivery Office, said: “We are thrilled to be the UK’s greenest delivery office and help on Royal Mail’s journey to being Net-Zero by 2040. This will benefit our staff and our customers in Harehills, reducing air and noise pollution locally and making our office more energy and cost-efficient.”
The site, which serves the LS8 postcode areas of Harehills, Gipton and Roundhay in Leeds, is among only a few Royal Mail delivery offices nationwide to be fully electrified. Currently, almost a quarter of its delivery offices operate some electric vehicles.
Royal Mail is also expanding its electric fleet more broadly, having recently introduced its 7,000th EV in the presence of Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood. It plans to add another 1,800 electric vans over the coming year, with nearly half of these to be built in the UK at Stellantis’s Ellesmere Port facility.
The new air source heat pump installed at Harehills is expected to cut annual gas use by around 15 tonnes – equivalent to the energy needed to power three homes each year – and is over three times more efficient than conventional heating systems.
Royal Mail has committed to reaching Net-Zero by 2040, with an interim target of a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 under its ‘Steps to Zero’ strategy. It currently reports the lowest carbon emissions per parcel of any major UK delivery company.
This story was first published in The Haulier.
