AUGUST 2017 / N°2 Update on dangerous goods Cycling for sustainability ISSN 0041-7009 ISSN Postal development on the move The WADP Numbering System (WNS) 2QUVCIGUVCORU! .GVoUIGVTGCN Find every legal stamp issued by the world’s issuing authorities, with easy access to online philatelic stores worldwide. %QNNGEVYKVJEQPƂFGPEG The WNS is managed by the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP), through the Universal Postal Union. More information: YYYYPUUVCORURQUV CONTENTS COVER STORY 10 2IPD yields new insights for global postal sector INTERVIEW 18 Designing the future of Saudi Post Cover: Getty Images UPU WORLD CEO FORUM 2017 DEPARTMENT What to expect from this edition of the UPU's 22 exclusive event for postal chief executives 04 In brief PERSPECTIVE 24 Dangerous goods update 05 Editor’s note FEATURE 26 Riding towards sustainability 31 Digest Union Postale is the Universal Postal Union’s flagship magazine, founded in 1875. It is published quarterly in seven languages August 2017 and takes a closer look at UPU activities, featuring international news and developments from the postal sector. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Kayla Redstone (KR) The magazine regularly publishes well researched articles AUTHORS: Sonam Bernhard (SB), Tripp Brinkley (TB), David Koch (DK), on topical issues facing the industry, as well as interviews with Fella Rabbahi (FR), Lovisa Selander (LS) the sector’s leading individuals. It is distributed widely to the DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Die Gestalter, Switzerland UPU’s 192 member countries, including thousands of deci- SUBSCRIPTIONS: [email protected] sion-makers from governments and Posts, as well as other ADVERTISING: [email protected] postal stake holders. All regard it as an important source of CONTACT: inform ation about the UPU and the postal sector at large. Union Postale Union Postale is also published in French, Arabic, Chinese, Ger- International Bureau man, Russian and Spanish. 02/2017 Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union neither endorses any products P.O. Box 312 or services offered by third-party advertisers nor guarantees 3000 Berne 15 the veracity of any claims made by the same. Opinions SWITZERLAND expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the UPU. PHONE: +41 31 350 31 11 It is expressly forbidden to reproduce any part of Union Postale E-MAIL: [email protected] magazine (including text, images or illustrations) without prior WEBSITE: news.upu.int/magazine permission. UNION POSTALE IN BRIEF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION Japan pledges additional support for disaster risk management The successful cooperation agree- Recalling the devastating earthquake withstand natural disasters, and help ment signed between Japan’s Minis- that hit Japan in 2011, the ambassa- our countries recover. This agree- try of Internal Affairs and Communi- dor reminded members of the fun- ment will help us do just that.” cations and the UPU in 2013 has been damental role postal services can The UPU’s disaster risk manage- extended for a further four years. play in case of a national emergency, ment activities have benefited signif- UPU Director General Bishar A. for example by distributing aid mate- icantly from the agreement, which Hussein exchanged the agreement rials. saw Japan contribute a total of 1.4 with Japanese Ambassador to Swit- “Building a disaster-resistant million USD in the 2013 – 2016 cycle. zerland and Liechtenstein Etsuro postal network is extremely impor- This support enabled the UPU to Honda during the plenary session tant for postal operators and users hold three regional capacity-building of the Postal Operations Council on alike. And it is very significant for seminars – one each in Barbados, 31 March. providing stable postal service on a Chile and Thailand – and produce a Under the cooperation agree- global scale. I am honoured that disaster risk management guide for ment, Japan will continue to support Japan can contribute to such an member countries in four official UN the UPU’s disaster risk management important mission,” he said. languages. FR activities until 2021, including a vol- For his part, the UPU Director untary contribution of 520,000 USD General thanked the Japanese gov- in 2017. A key focus of the extended ernment for its generosity: “Though agreement will be to design a techni- we can’t stop the course of nature, cal assistance methodology to sup- we can do our best to ensure that 4 port developing countries. we are as prepared as possible to 02/2017 UPU Director General shakes hands with Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein Etsuro Honda after exchanging the agreement. UNION POSTALE EDITOR’S NOTE Measuring & fostering development IN BRIEF The UPU plays a central role as the primary forum for cooperation between postal stakeholders, ever striving to build a more globally connected and seamless postal network. To achieve this, countries must continue to develop their postal services to meet modern needs. As explained in our cover story, the UPU’s newly devised Integrated Index for Postal Development (2IPD) maps the evolution of postal services worldwide on four dimensions: reliability, reach, relevance and resilience. While postal services in several member countries excelled – take top per- formers Switzerland, France and Japan, for example – there is some work to be done to ensure all Posts can offer the latest quality global services to their customers. Readers will learn that in addition to creating new ways of measuring postal development, the UPU has also been busy in the field, providing member countries with means to grow. On the home front, the UPU's OSCAR tool is helping propel sustainable development by giving member coun- tries a way to track and minimize their carbon outputs. Through a campaign launched in 2016, the UPU has also helped several countries in Latin America reduce carbon emissions, improve postal worker health and increase service quality by outfitting postal delivery staff with new bicycles. The UPU is also cooperating with other international organizations to not only further postal devel- opment, but also leverage the postal network’s role in global development with regards to e-com- merce and ICTs. As you will read, UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein made this clear in his remarks to stakeholders at the recent UNCTAD E-Commerce Week and WSIS Forum gatherings. KAYLA REDSTONE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 5 E-COMMERCE E-commerce in Africa: Strategic agreement signed The Universal Postal Union and Tuni- Experts from the UPU and Tunisia Djibouti and Uganda to assist them sia signed an agreement in July for have for the past months been in setting up e-commerce platforms the development of e-commerce in setting up suitable technical and for their Posts. the country under the Ecom@Africa operational structures that will The objective of the Ecom@Africa project initiative. enable the roll out of the project. project is to facilitate the develop- UPU Director General Bishar A. Both parties to the agreement ment of e-commerce through the Hussein and La Poste Tunisienne recognized the initiative as an impor- postal network in Africa, thus giving Chief Executive Officer Moez Chak- tant step to enable the Post to con- micro, small and medium-sized chouk, who represented Tunisian tribute more to the national develop- enterprises (MSMEs) better access to government, signed the cooperation ment of the country. local international markets. This will agreement at an event witnessed The initiative has been launched be made possible by simplifying by Tunisian Minister for Communica- by UPU to assist African countries import and export procedures, with tion Technologies and Digital Econ- develop and facilitate online trade the support of designated operators omy Mohamed Anouar Maârouf, using the postal network. The of UPU member countries and other UPU Council of Administration Chair- signing of the agreement makes key players in the supply chain. FR man Kenan Bozgeyik and UPU Dep- Tunisia the first country among the uty Director General Pascal Clivaz. six selected to pioneer the project. The cooperation agreement for- Others are Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, malizes commitment to implement Kenya, Morocco and South Africa. 02/2017 the Ecom@Africa Tunisian platform. UPU has also received requests from UNION POSTALE IN BRIEF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OSCAR: the tool that measures our future Postal operators are becoming The reporting for 2016 is still in manage their environmental impact increasingly conscious of climate process, but indicates an even more efficiently. Noting the global change and the impact their own higher level of participation from importance of the environment for all operations have on the climate. Ris- across the globe. This is a good start, industries, he underlined that the ing to the challenge, the UPU has but there is much more to be done. postal sector had long been taking developed the Online Solution for Whilst keeping individual country specific, proactive steps to reduce Carbon Analysis and Reporting, or data confidential and secure on its CO2 emissions. OSCAR for short. OSCAR, the aggregation of global With more than 600,000 post The UPU has performed annual and regional averages enables the offices processing billions of items, inventories of the environmental UPU to paint a picture of the relying on more than 1.5 million impact of the postal operators in its greenhouse gas contribution of vehicles and 5.5 million staff world- member countries since 2008. In the postal sector worldwide. The wide to deliver various services, 2015, with the financial support of UPU works together with interna- there is no doubt that the postal La Poste France and the Japanese tional organizations and actors in sector makes a considerable contri- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Com- the field to keep the methodology bution towards global greenhouse munications (MIC), the UPU rolled in OSCAR current and relevant and gas emissions. But the actions out OSCAR to its 192 member coun- to position the postal sector on the already taken by our member coun- tries.