29 January 2009 – Royal Mail has announced that it plans to launch a green bulk mail service from April 2009.
The 'Sustainable Mail' service will offer bulk mailers a reduction rate for distributing addressed junk mail if the mail shot is consistent with the recently introduced PAS 2020 standard. It is not yet certain that the service will be launched. Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services in the UK, is currently examining the impact of the new service on customers and competition and will be holding a consultation on Royal Mail's proposal before April 2009.
If introduced, the Sustainable Mail service will offer bulk mailers a discount of either 2 or 4.7 per cent, depending on whether a company qualifies for the 'entry' or 'intermediate' level of the service. The criteria to qualify for the entry level will include:
To qualify for the intermediate level a bulk mailer must meet a number of additional criteria, including:
In 2007, Royal Mail introduced a similar scheme for unaddressed junk mail. Under the 'green' door-to-door scheme Royal Mail commits itself to making door-drops that meet a number of environmental criteria 'carbon neutral' by donating money to a carbon offset scheme. Royal Mail does not publish data on the take-up of this scheme and it therefore unclear how many bulk mailers are chosing this green option.