Sustainability Strategies for Australia Post: A Case Study Report

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SUSTAINABILITY: AUSTRALIA POST
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Executive Summary
Australia Post is also known as Aus Post is the corporation owned by the government. This
corporation provides postal services in Australia. It is traditionally mortar and bricks mail
provider using letter boxes and post offices. This is a delivery system of mail and also operates
retail chain. In this report, a case study of Australia Post has been done. Australia Post can
implement the sustainability strategy in its corporation. The critical evaluation of this strategy
has been done in this report mentioning the various key components AP can adopt for the
successful implantation of this strategy. The advantages and limitations of the sustainability
strategy have also been made. The numerous strategies for sustaining its business in the market
to be adopted by AP have been explained. Business strategy is the other strategy which can be
adopted by AP. The description of the business strategy has also been made in this report. In the
end, the conclusions are provided.
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Case Outline.....................................................................................................................................5
Critical evaluation of Sustainability................................................................................................5
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
This is the case of Australia Post which is government-owned corporation providing postal
services in Australia. Technology is the threat for the bricks and mortar mail system. Australia
Post can implement sustainability strategy in its corporation. Critical evaluation of sustainability
strategy has been done in this report. Key components of a successful sustainability strategy in
AP have been defined. A different sustainable strategy which should be considered by AP is
mentioned. The description is made of different benefits and limitations AP can have from this
strategy. Business strategy can also be implemented by AP. The brief description of this strategy
has also been made.
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Case Outline
Australia Post is having excellent resources but the digital challenge is the major challenge
which it has to meet along with obligations of handling paper mail. Australia Post uses letter
boxes and post offices for providing traditionally bricks and mortar mail. The retail chain is also
operated by the Australian Post. For bricks and mortar mail system, technology is a threat
because of the major challenges leading due to this. Strategic flexibility of AP is also stifled by
the government which is also a threat to AP. Prices of paper mail letters have already been raised
and the delivery time has also been increased by AP indicating gradual withdrawal from this
public duty. Being an owner of the organization, the government wants AP to continue the paper
mail because it is traditional and lots of political mails are delivered. A wide range of goods are
being delivered in their post offices but it can't be a major profit center due to the high level of
competition in this area.
Critical evaluation of Sustainability-
Sustainability strategy can be adopted by Australia Post. In recent decades the awareness of the
environment has grown. All forms of business are being forced to incorporating more suitable
approaches for carrying out the activities. Business sustainability is also called corporate
sustainability (Unruh, 2017). It is the coordination and management of social, financial and
environmental demands and concerns for ensuring ethical, responsible and ongoing process. The
three pillars of sustainability include social, economic and environmental demands. Sometimes
these are called a triple bottom line in the corporate world. Sustainability goals require a more
extended timeline for return on investment. But increased profitability can actually be met by
Australia Post by once making an initial investment (Ballou.et.al, 2012).
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Figure1. Sustainability
Source: Entrepreneur, 2015
Key components of successful Sustainability strategy in Australia Post-
 Elevation of sustainability strategy in the governance of AP including accountability and
direct board oversight over social and environmental issues, more diversity and special
board expertise and linking employee compensation and executives to goals of
sustainability (Dauvergne and Lister, 2012).
 Open reporting should be made on goals, strategies, and achievement of sustainability.
 Robust regular with key stakeholders of AP on sustainability challenges including
investors, consumers, suppliers, and employees.
 For achieving environment neutrality and other goals of sustainability across the entire
value chain including supply chain, operations (Blackburn, 2012).
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For creating a sustainable future following sustainable strategies should be considered by
Australia Post-
Natural resources of AP should be utilized very efficiently and properly. Sustainable society
should be built by reducing the environmental impacts, ensuring traceable and transparent supply
chain and facilitating circular economy. The approach should be to have multi-faceted
environmental management. The overall level of greenhouse gas emissions should be removed
and driving the reuse, recycling and reduction of materials that would go to refill. Environmental
risks will be minimized to infrastructure, services and others (Kiron.et.al, 2013).
As a part of the environmental sustainability strategy Australia post can improve their transport
network and make it more efficient by introducing some of the following initiatives-
 Shifting to more fuel-efficient motorbikes, this will result in annual cost savings by
reduction in million liters of annual carbon and fuel.
 Use of electric bikes will reduce emissions and will improve the well-being and health of
people.
 Introduction of electric vehicles
 Collaboration should be made for moving a large amount of freight to rail. This will
reduce the overall emission of greenhouse and millions of dollars will be saved in
transportation cost while ensuring no degradation in the services to customers.
 Logistics should be provided for underpinning material’s movement so that businesses
and individuals can have more opportunities for repurposing, recycle and reuse items
which will help in the transition to a circular economy (Schamotta, 2018).
 Sustainable packaging should be done so that packaging can be recycled. This will
enable the customers for posting padded bags and satchels for recycling.
 Understanding the risks related to the environment so that those risks can be minimized
and eliminated.
 Complying with regulatory and legal requirements (Schaltegger.et.al, 2012).
Considerations should be made for the environmental, ethical and social dimensions of the entire
supply chain. This will also bring key evaluation criterion into Australia Post procurement
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process. Australia post should various sustainability commitments so that it can be recognized as
a national leader in international sustainability initiatives.
There are various reasons for having a sustainability strategy in business. By adopting the
sustainability strategy, Australia Post will have following benefits-
 Increase productivity by reducing costs- By introducing more sustainable strategies in
AP, operations efficiency will increase by better utilization and conservation of
resources. Streamlining of operations will be there and will reduce the costs to AP
(Gond.et.al, 2012).
 Enhanced brand and increase the competitive advantage- This will enhance the brand
of Australia Post as if customers are aware that the companies are mindful of their impact
on environment and society, their repeating purchasing power gets affected. The
competitive advantage of AP will increase.
 Improve investment and financial opportunity- Analyst of investment and finance have
recognized companies who have adopted plans of sustainability regarding energy
efficiency and reduction of the impact of the environment as a significant evaluator
criterion.
 Minimize Carbon Risk and energy efficiency is improved- Green business will
contribute to minimizing the carbon risks and energy efficiency will also get improved of
AP (Goyal.et.al, 2013).
 Increase employee recruitment and retention- Employees get attracted to the
organization which is doing the right things and is proactive with social programs and
corporate environment. Advancing sustainability report mentions that organizations with
the programs of sustainability report 55% better morale of employees, 38% improved
loyalty of employees and 43 % more efficient processes of the business. Adoption of
sustainability strategies by AP will prove to attract to the employees of Australia Post.
 Attract Investors- AP will then attract more and more investors as people do not want to
link with those enterprises which are implicated in ecological disasters. Investors prefer
to make an investment in an environmentally responsible company that is more
competitive and innovative (Joyner, 2018).
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 Reduction of wastage- There will be a reduction of wastage by use of sustainable
packaging, electric bikes and more efficient fuel vehicles which will not only benefit AP
but it will also prove beneficial for the environment (Willard, 2012).
 Shareholders will be happy- Sustainability will not only lower costs but profits can be
increased due to this. Increased sales, decreased costs and improved productivity will
ultimately result in making the shareholders of AP happy.
 Increase AP ability to comply with regulations- Federal agencies of government are
enacting regulations due to climate change, environmental impact and dwindling energy,
to protect the environment. By integrating sustainability in business, AP will be able to
meet changing regulations in a timely manner.
 Better relationships with suppliers- By looking into sustainable supply chain
management, AP will be able to figure out where its business stands and where the
business of supplier stand
 Good Public relations- At present more consumers focus is on paying attention to
business sustainability policies from which they make a purchase or get services from
(Goni.et.al, 2013).
Integration of sustainability strategies in Australia Post will affect corporation negatively in the
following ways-
 Conversion expense- AP can find it costly for the corporation of going green initially.
Energy savings cost reduction gained by going green will not be sufficient to offset the
initial upfront costs of conversion.
 Customer Backlash- If any false claims are made by the company regarding the
environmental friendliness of their service or products and consumers become aware of it
then it will result in harming the credibility to the company and its customers will
backlash.
 Costlier services- Integration of sustainable strategies will increase the price of services
of AP (Hansmann.et.al, 2012).
 Complex Business Model- It will be hard to focus on one bottom line; profits. Try should
be made to focus on three. Sustainable businesses not only focus on being profitable but
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they also take responsibility for how their business is impacting people and planet
(Galpin.et.al, 2015).
 More requirements- There will be requirements to function such as correct treatment of
waste, reducing carbon dioxide emission. For achieving this AP will have to compromise
their work and efficiency.
 Unemployment in some areas- Changes to care and preserve for ecosystem and
biodiversity can cause many industries to reduce their activities which in turn bring
unemployment for many people (Gibson.et.al, 2013).
Australia Post should consider these effective ways for building a sustainable business-
The road to sustainability is not an easy one. AP will be said to be a sustainable corporation
if its actions and purposes will be equally grounded in the environment, financial and social
concerns.
 Building business on belief; creating value to the business.
 Standing still and embracing change
 Focus on creating a value proposition
 Growth and comfort don't co-exist
 Focus on excelling in an area
 Focus on constant reinvention (Willard, 2012)
Australia Post can adopt the Business strategy. Business strategy is a core function of
management. It is the master plan used by the management for securing a competitive position in
the market, pleasing the customers, carrying the operations and achieving the desired ends of the
business. There are three levels of business strategy including the corporate level strategy,
functional level strategy, and business level strategies. Cost leadership, differentiation, focused
approach, and Price skimming, product differentiation is the different types of strategy
(Connor.et.al, 2012).
There are various benefits which Australia Post can achieve by implementing a business strategy
which includes the following-
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 By having a business strategy, AP manager will be clear about where their business
stands today, where it is going and what is needed to do more to reach the top. The clear
direction, clarity, and focus will be given by this (Woodard.et.al, 2013).
 Developing a business strategy will give all the members of AP to drive and impetus for
performing at best and taking the business to the place where it wants to be.
 A lot of creative thinking is involved in working and reviewing the business strategy
which will generate new opportunities and ideas for AP which could not have been
identified otherwise.
 It will lead to better business performance as the focus will be on making all those efforts
which will take the business to the position where it is wanted to be.
 Success can be achieved by applying a differentiation strategy by an entry in the small
segment of the market by providing goods and services to the customers they see as
valuable (Oestreicher and Zalmanson, L., 2013).
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Conclusion
It can be concluded from the overall case study that That excellent resources are available to
Australia Post but there are various challenges related to digital which it has to consider. By
adopting sustainability strategy Australia Post can coordinate and manage the social, financial
and environmental demands and concerns. Open reporting should be made on strategies,
achievement, and goals of sustainability. For the creation of sustainable future various
sustainable strategies should be considered by AP. It should shift to more efficient future bikes,
electric bikes, the introduction of electric vehicles, the transition to a circular economy and
sustainable packaging should be adopted by AP. The sustainable strategy will benefit AP by
improving investment and financial opportunities, enhanced brand, and competitive advantage
attract investors and many more. But there are some of the limitations that AP has to consider
while applying. There are numerous ways of building a sustainable business. Business strategy
can be adopted by Australia Post. This will also benefit AP in different ways.
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