The electrification of delivery vans is an important part of Royal Mail’s strategy to lower emissions from its vehicles. Now, almost a quarter of Royal Mail’s delivery offices use some electric vehicles for deliveries and collections, but Harehills is one of only a few to be all-electric. The vans are charged on-site via a purchased 100% renewable electricity supply, making them zero-emission.
The air source heat pump works by transferring heat from the outside air to the water in a central heating system and is over three times more energy efficient than a traditional gas or oil boiler. The heat pump will save an estimated 15 tons of natural gas a year, equivalent to the energy needed to power three homes annually.
Harehills Delivery Office serves parts of the LS8 postcode in West Yorkshire, covering the Harehills, Gipton and Roundhay areas of Leeds.
Royal Mail recently unveiled its 7,000th electric vehicle with Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood. The company celebrated this milestone by announcing that it will invest in 1,800 more electric vans and supporting charging infrastructure over the next year. Almost half of the new vans will be built in the UK at Stellantis’s Ellesmere Port plant.
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.”
Royal Mail ‘s ‘Steps to Zero’ environment strategy set a goal of achieving Net-Zero by 2040. Royal Mail is on track to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030.
