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Ireland Digitalization EIB loan, Source: EIB

The national post of Ireland gets sustainable boost with EU funding

The national post of Ireland gets sustainable boost with EU funding

Several cities and towns will be serviced by Zero Emission Electric Vehicles

The European Union is helping the Irish postal service provider become more sustainable. A fresh loan of 40 million euros will was announced last week. It is expected to boost An Post’s Digital, Retail and Green transformation.

The European Investment Bank will be providing funding under the form of a loan to An Post for a period of 10 years. It is also the first time that the EU bank provides a long-term EIB loan to the national mails and parcels and retail post office operator of Ireland.

Sustainable business backed by EU funding

The announcement was made in Dublin by Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Richard Bruton T.D. He explained that one of the challenges of climate action is the need to mobilize capital for new, sustainable technologies. Today’s announcement allows An Post to be a leader in putting sustainability at the core of their business, he continued.

For his part, Andrew McDowell, Vice-President of EIB explained that the postal service provider was demonstrating how support for local communities and climate action can be at the core of a sustainable business. The funding will facilitate a greener delivery fleet and will accelerate the use of innovation and digitalization to enhance access to financial services and improve mails, parcels and e-commerce services for customers.

The company has sustainable transformation plans already running. David McRedmond, CEO of An Post estimated that thanks to their current strategy, they had managed to move from a reported €12.4m loss in 2016 to a profit of €41.2m in 2018. This growth is expected to continue in 2019.

Thanks to the new investment, the carrier could make 750 electric vehicles available for local deliveries and thereby cut carbon emissions. The e-vehicles will go to Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford and other towns. Furthermore, an app-based technology will help make the parcel sorting process automatic.

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