Royal Mail today revealed that mailings delivered under its Sustainable® Mail service have reached the 100 million mark nine months after its launch.

Some 75 customers have signed up to the bulk mail service, rolled out last April, which encourages responsible behaviour by offering a lower price tariff for direct mail that meets newly developed environmental standards.

Companies can join up to the Sustainable® Mail service if they meet the criteria based on three key environmental needs - improved sustainability, minimised waste and increased recyclability. They can also now benefit from Royal Mail’s ‘DM Sale’, offering a discount of 20 per cent on new or additional mailings in March and April this year. This offer is available through both Sustainable® Mail and Mailsort® services.

Matthew Neilson, Head of Environmental Solutions at Royal Mail, said: "There has been tremendous interest in Sustainable® Mail and we are delighted that so many brands have signed up to the service. Reaching 100 million items in the first nine months is an impressive and important milestone for us.

"The organisations involved have met our strict criteria and we are sure they will be joined by many others willing to take advantage of this product and work with us to reduce direct mail waste and streamline production."

To qualify for the Sustainable® Mailproduct, mailers must meet certain specification criteria. In the first instance they must achieve entry level standard to access the product, with prices of up to two per cent below normal Mailsort® tariffs available. Clients can then achieve an even better postage rate - up to 4.7 per cent discount - by demonstrating intermediate level requirements.

The criteria to qualify for Sustainable® Mail at the entry level include:
• The use of recycled fibre from recovered waste paper and/or virgin fibre sourced from a Defra approved forest certification scheme in all paper products
• The adoption of good data practices such as the development and maintenance of an internal suppression file as well as the checking of customer and prospects against the Mailing Preference Service
• The recyclability of all paper elements of the mailing, including windowed and padded envelopes
• A statement or logo, such as Recycle Now, on the outside of the mailing to encourage recycling of the item

Included in the intermediate level specification are requirements that:
• All printers, mailing houses or in-house mailing facilities used to produce a mailing must have an environmental management system conforming to BS EN ISO 14001
• No ultraviolet varnish finishes or rubber-based adhesives are used in the mailing
• Each item must give clear information as to how the addressee can register to unsubscribe from receiving information about any or all of a sending company’s products for one year