In 2010, Mail in the Netherlands focused on responsible downsizing. After approval in the collective labour agreement, including the social plan in March 2010, Mail and the unions discussed the implementation of the final restructuring (Master Plan III). After six days of strikes, an agreement was reached on 16 December 2010. The agreement provides the basis for an efficient mail operation and lays the foundation for a socially responsible transition. The agreement was ratified by the union members in January 2011.
The restructuring will decrease the number of FTEs by 11,000. Allowing for natural attrition and voluntary departures, 4,500 compulsory redundancies were expected to be necessary among operational staff. Ratification of the agreement by union members means that this number will now be substantially reduced. A confirmed total of 1,700 jobs will be retained, primarily at Mail’s new ‘Auto Unit’ and Parcels. Mail will examine the possibilities of retaining another 200 jobs at the Auto Unit as part of future organisational changes. Temporary work will be offered to 300 employees until the end of 2013. Also, greater use will be made of TNT Mobility, with the aim of avoiding unemployment for an additional 500 workers.
Furthermore, Mail renewed certifications for OHSAS 18001, Investors in People (IiP), ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. The highlights of Mail’s CR performance with regard to employees, the environment and other stakeholders are provided in the table below:
Corporate responsibility data
| Year ended at 31 December | 2010 | 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | |||||
| ▲ | OHSAS 18001 (in % of total FTEs working in certified sites) | 88% | 86% | ||
| Fatal accidents (own and subcontractor) | 1 | 4 | |||
| Serious accidents | ▲ | 76 | 32 | ||
| Lost time accidents per 100 FTEs | ▲ | 4.37 | 2.08 | ||
| ▲ | Investors in People (in % of total headcount working in certified sites) | 91% | 90% | ||
| Employee engagement | 54% | no data | |||
| Environment | |||||
| ▲ | ISO 14001 (in % of total FTEs working in certified sites) | 88% | 86% | ||
| ▲ | CO2 emissions absolute (ktonnes) | 83 | 83 | ||
| CO2 efficiency index | ▲ | 70.4 | 68.9 | ||
| ▲ | CO2 efficiency small trucks and vans (g CO2/km) | 237 | 236 | ||
| ▲ | CO2 efficiency large trucks (g CO2/km) | 715 | 737 | ||
| ▲ | CO2 efficiency buildings (kg CO2/m2) | 29.4 | 26.9 | ||
| ▲ | Sustainable electricity (in % of total electricity) | 83% | 81% | ||
| Other stakeholders | |||||
| ▲ | ISO 9001 (in % of total FTEs working in certified sites) | 89% | 87% | ||
| Customer satisfaction | 89% | 90% | |||
| Figures with a triangle (▲) fall within the reasonable assurance scope | |||||
Detailed analysis of these and other CR performance figures is provided in CR strategy and performance.
In order to make a like-for-like comparison between the 2010 and 2009 CR results, management assessed the impact of changes in scope and severe weather. In the following parts of this report, these corrections are included and explained where relevant.
During 2010, Germany increased the coverage of its CR reporting activities. This had significant influence on some key CR indicators.
Severe winter weather conditions also influenced certain indicators. The winter period of 2010 was intense and long. This can be demonstrated by normalisation of adverse weather. This is done by analysing the number of degree days, defined as a measure of how much (in degrees), and for how long (in days), outside air temperature was lower than a specific ‘base temperature’ (18°C). Normalising adverse weather conditions is also used by energy companies to correct energy use for extreme winter weather conditions. The year 2010 had over 20% more degree days than the long-term average in the Netherlands (3,374 degree days versus 2,797 degree days on average).
Where relevant, the effects mentioned above are presented to explain the influence on the reported numbers in order to improve comparability with the reported 2009 numbers.
Employees
In 2010, Mail reported one fatal accident, which occurred in the Netherlands, compared to four fatal accidents in 2009.
In 2010, an increased number of serious accidents and lost time accidents occurred. These significant increases could lead to the conclusion that there is a serious underlying deterioration in the health and safety management system at Mail. The Mail health and safety management system requires all accidents to be reported and consolidated monthly. Management has tracked year-on-year trends and can clearly demonstrate that serious and lost time accidents were materially higher in January, February, March and December 2010 than in the same periods of 2009. Each accident has been investigated and management concluded that a large part of the accidents can be contributed to either a road traffic accident as a direct result of ice and snow, which led to treacherous driving conditions, or falls and slippage of mail delivery personnel as a result of untreated pavements and cycle paths.
Management has therefore assessed the impact of scope changes and extreme winter conditions for a better comparison. The adjustment for extreme winter conditions regarding accidents is based on the 2009 results for Mail in the Netherlands.
Number of serious accidents
| Number of serious accidents | |
|---|---|
| 2010 reported | 76 |
| Scope change Germany | 21 |
| Winter conditions | 18 |
| 2010 adjusted | 37 |
| 2009 reported | 32 |
In 2010, Mail reported 76 serious accidents, compared with 32 in 2009. The adjusted number of serious accidents is 37, an increase of five compared to 2009. Germany started reporting serious accidents in 2010, and accounted for 21 serious accidents. The extreme winter conditions accounted for 18 serious accidents.
Lost time accidents frequency rate (per 100 FTEs)
| Lost time accidents frequency rate (per 100 FTEs) | |
|---|---|
| 2010 reported | 4.37 |
| Scope change Germany | 1.22 |
| Winter conditions | 0.81 |
| 2010 adjusted | 2.34 |
| 2009 reported | 2.08 |
In 2010, Mail reported 4.37 lost time accidents per 100 FTEs, compared with 2.08 in 2009. The adjusted number of lost time accidents per 100 FTEs is 2.34, an increase of 0.26 compared to 2009. Germany started reporting lost time accidents in 2010, and accounted for an effect of 1.22 on the reported LTAs per 100 FTEs for Mail. In Germany, employees frequently use motorised scooters to deliver mail, which may lead to higher accident rates and increased accident severity.
The extreme winter conditions accounted for 0.81 LTAs per 100 FTEs. Many accidents were caused by slippery roads and pavements.
Employee engagement declined to 54%, which is below the results of the previous survey conducted in 2008 (64%). The timing of the survey, at the height of the economic downturn and with the announcement of redundancies, is likely to have influenced the response and outcome of the Global Engagement Survey.
Environment
Mail is committed to reducing its CO2 footprint, and has developed several initiatives to achieve this. The absolute CO2 footprint for Mail’s own operations remained stable at 83 ktonnes, whereas the CO2 footprint including that of subcontractors decreased by four ktonnes in 2010.
CO2 efficiency index
| CO2 efficiency index | |
|---|---|
| 2010 reported | 70.4 |
| Scope change Germany | 0.1 |
| Winter conditions | 3.6 |
| 2010 adjusted | 66.7 |
| 2009 reported | 68.9 |
For 2010, the CO2 efficiency index for Mail was 70.4, a deterioration of 1.5 points compared to 2009 (68.9). Management has analysed the underlying reasons for this deterioration and has concluded that it is mainly caused by increased gas usage as a result of the extreme winter conditions. The CO2 efficiency index improved by an estimated 2.2 points, according to management. Management therefore believes that the 2010 reported CO2 efficiency indicator, when adjusted to reflect the extreme weather conditions, shows an improvement in 2010, with a figure of 66.7 compared with 68.9 in 2009.
The percentage of sustainable electricity consumed increased from 81% in 2009 to 83% in 2010. Nevertheless, a deterioration in the reported CO2 efficiency for buildings occurred, from 26.9 to 29.4 kilogrammes CO2 per m2. The deterioration in CO2 efficiency is a result of the increased gas consumption during the extreme winter months, as explained above.
For small trucks and vans, the CO2 efficiency was 237 grammes CO2 per kilometre in 2010 (236 in 2009), while the CO2 efficiency of large trucks was 715 grammes CO2 per kilometre in 2010 (737 in 2009). The improvement of the CO2 efficiency of large trucks is a result of the United Kingdom, as this entity reported for the first time in 2010 and its large trucks are more efficient than the average large truck in Mail. In 2010, the United Kingdom also added new trucks to the fleet that are more efficient than the most common large trucks of Mail.
Other stakeholders
In 2010, Mail conducted an annual survey among the small and medium-sized business customers of Mail in the Netherlands. Customer satisfaction for Mail customers decreased from 90% in 2009 to 89% in 2010.
Voluntary contributions to society
In 2010, Mail employees participated in a number of projects with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and assisted in developing an essential package designed to improve the health and nutrition of schoolchildren. A number of fundraising activities were organised for the Malawi school feeding programme and over 100 employees played an active role as Game Guides (assisting Kids Moving the World), visiting primary schools in the Netherlands to create awareness of the world food problem. Mail also continued its initiatives on the cookery book Master Chefs for Home Chefs and on the recycling of mobile phones, with the earnings transferred to WFP.