[press release] [translated by Google]
Stamps show the value of sustainability

The Hague, 22 March 2021 – PostNL’s latest stamp sheetlet is based on the principle that people must pass on the earth from generation to generation as well as possible. In the

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design of the sustainability stamps, this idea is visualized by handing over a globe: from parent to child, from one stamp to another.

The design refers to Dorien Pessers’ idea of the ecological constitutional state. This legal philosopher argues for a society with a new right of inheritance. In it you are grateful for what you receive from the previous generation and you are obliged to pass on this legacy to the next generation in good order.

Visual symbolism
The design of the Sustainability stamp sheetlet is a collective achievement of the graphic designers Reynoud Homan and Martijn de Wilde. According to Homan, PostNL’s sustainability objectives could play a role, but the extent to which was left to the designers. “We started looking for answers based on all kinds of questions. For example, about how the concept of sustainability has developed in recent years. What the visual symbolism is about climate change and sustainability.”

Emotional and poetic
The designers worked out several concepts, including those around the idea of passing on a well-preserved legacy. PostNL chose this concept without hesitation, says Homan. He was happy with that. “Especially because of the argument with which PostNL justified the choice, namely that this design was mainly emotional. For us this proposal was the most poetic.”

Ambitions
Stephan van den Eijnden, commercial director Mail of PostNL, supports the idea of the new sustainability stamps. This also ties in seamlessly with PostNL’s ambitions in this area. “We have set ourselves an ambitious goal to deliver all parcels and letters in the Benelux emission-free in the last mile by 2030 at the latest. We report on progress every year in our annual report. At the moment, almost all mail is already delivered emission-free. Currently, our mail deliverers walk and cycle more than 1200 times around the world per year to deliver the mail. ”

Sustainability
Index In November 2020, it was announced that PostNL once again ranks among the most sustainable companies in the world in the logistics and transport sector, with a third place on the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). In the field of the environment, PostNL is even in first place within the sector.

Availability
The Sustainability stamp sheet consists of 6 stamps in 2 designs with the value indication Nederland 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The stamps are available from March 22, 2021 at the Bruna stores and via www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [direct link]. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The period of validity is indefinite.