Royal Mail Sustainable Advertising Mail

Overview

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what do we mean by sustainable advertising mail…………..

Sustainable Advertising Mail allows customers to minimise the environmental impact of direct mail

campaigns, helping to support mailers’ ‘green credentials’ and help to offset the additional costs of

a sustainable approach

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Our objectives for Sustainable Advertising Mail……….

• Help mailers achieve sustainability goals

• Reduce the environmental impact of direct mail

• Secure the future of mail as an advertising media

• Help to increase the use of sustainable resources & materials

• Help to reduce the amount of mail in the waste stream

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The benefits …………..• Good for customers - because it creates mail that is easy to recycle and will help increase recycling levels to over 80%

• Good for the environment - because it supports sustainable practices, reduces landfill, and reduces the environmental impact of Direct Mail

• Good for your brand - because over 60% of recipients will consider your brand more responsible

• Good for your postal costs – because it offers lower postal prices to help offset any additional costs associated with an environmentally-friendly approach

• Supports PAS2020 – because it’s aligned directly to the new standard, it can support you in your journey towards PAS2020 certification

Product specification

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using Sustainable Advertising Mail...

• Sustainable Advertising Mail can be requested via your account handler, who will support you through the set-up process

• We will provide you with a link to the User Guide and Terms & Conditions which will tell you what you need to do to prepare for Sustainable Advertising Mail

• We also ask that for each of your mailings, you include a ‘seed’ item which will be sent to our central team of experts

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Keeping on the right track……………..• So that we can make sure you are on the right track with

Sustainable Advertising Mail, in addition to our mail verification checks, we will also carry out an audit to check that you are able to meet the specification

• To do this, we may need:

- Sight of the relevant documentation which supports your compliance to the Sustainable Advertising Mail specification

- On-site access to carry out a data health-check

- To review your ‘seed’ mailings

• We will always give you notice of any audit

• If you would like us to take a look at your documentation before accessing Sustainable Advertising Mail , please speak to your account handler who can help you with this

Improving targeting

1. Where the data is not from a consent-based file, a documented procedure for suppressing customer and prospect data against the Mail Preference Service (MPS), including MPS deceased, must be in place and files checked 30 days or less before the item that uses the data is delivered to the recipient.For mail produced overseas where the transit time to the UK is greater than 30 days, mailing files should be checked for recency 30 days or less before the items are despatched to Royal Mail and transit time to the UK should be no longer than 90 days

Onsite visit to undertake data health-check

2. Keep and maintain an internal suppression file to ensure that customers and prospects who request to opt out of your mailings are properly logged and check this data 30 days or less before the item that uses the data is delivered to the recipient.For mail produced overseas where the transit time to the UK is greater than 30 days, the data must be checked 30 days or less before the items are despatched to Royal Mail and transit time to the UK should be no longer than 90 days

Onsite visit to undertake data health-check

3. Ensure all items are fully and accurately addressed and postcoded in accordance with Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF®) and to the levels determined in the Mailsort User Guide. Address Accuracy listed on Computer Planning Report (CPR) / line list. May also include onsite visit to undertake data health-check

Meeting the Sustainable Advertising Mail Specification: Entry Level …..

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Meeting the Sustainable Advertising Mail Specification: Entry Level………Sustainable resources and materials

4. All paper products used must contain recycled fibre from recovered waste paper and/or virgin fibre sourced under a certified chain of custody conforming to a certification scheme approved by the Defra funded Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement (CPET).Declaration, certificate or invoice from supplier confirming adherence to criteria above. Eg FSC certification

5. All paper products must be produced using non-chlorinating bleaching methods: Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) and Total Chlorine Free (TCF) including oxidizing and reductive bleaching.

Declaration, certificate of invoice from supplier confirming adherence to criteria above

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Meeting the Sustainable Advertising Mail Specification: Entry Level………….Sustainable resources and materials

6. All paper products used in the mailing must be sourced from paper mills that operate an environmental management system conforming to BS EN ISO 14001 and/or the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

Certification from paper mill

7. Printers, mailing houses or in-house mailing facilities used to produce the mailing must have:i. A documented commitment to environmental management and

baseline for environmental performanceii. Identified appropriate environmental legislation and other

environmental requirements (e.g. standards, codes of practice and/or guidance) and have controls in place to ensure compliance to them

iii. Developed environmental objectives, targets and programmes

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Meeting the Sustainable Advertising MailS pecification: Entry Level………..Recyclability

8. All paper elements of the mailing, including window and padded envelopes, must be recyclable.

9. No brown paper or brown paper envelopes (including manilla).

10. No plastic envelopes (including polywrap).

11. No laminate finishes must be used in the mailing.

12. The item must have less than 90% ink coverage.

Declaration, report from supplier (eg creative agency/ printer) indicating ink coverage percentage. NB PAS 2020 provides further guidance on ink coverage and software available to check percentage

13. All items must display a statement and/or logo (such as Recycle Now) on the outside of the mailing that encourages the recipient to recycle it.

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Meeting the Sustainable Advertising Mail Specification: Intermediate Level………….

Improving targeting

14. Customer and prospect data used in a mailing must be checked against one or more commercially available deceased and gone away suppression file (including business gone away suppression files) 30 days or less before the item that uses the data is delivered to the recipient.Onsite visit to undertake data health-check

15. Each item must clearly incorporate information as to how the addressee can register to unsubscribe preference options relating to any or all of the sender’s legal entity brands and/or products for a period of one year.

16. Any items returned from previous mailings as deceased, gone away or requesting opt-out must be recorded and removed from future mailing lists within 3 months of receipt.Onsite visit to undertake data health-check

17. Ensure at least 90% of items are fully and accurately addressed and postcoded in accordance with Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File.Address Accuracy listed on CPR / line list. May also include onsite visit to undertake data health-check

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Meeting the Sustainable Advertising Mail Specification: Intermediate Level…………

Sustainable resources and materials

18. All printers, mailing houses or in-house mailing facilities used to produce your mailing must have an environmental management system conforming to BS EN ISO 14001.

Copy of ISO certification for printer / mailing house/ in-house mailing facility

Recyclability

19. No ultraviolet varnish finishes must be used in the mailing

Declaration, certification confirming adherance to criteria above – eg printer

20. No use of rubber-based adhesives.

Declaration, certification confirming adherance to criteria above- eg printer, envelope manufacturer,

sortation and delivery options……

•SortationSort to Low Sort OCR – 86 selections

Low Sort Barcode – 86 selections

Low Sort Mailmark barcode – 86 selections

High Sort – 1529 selections

•Delivery1st Classdelivery aim of next working day

2nd Classdelivery aim within two working days after posting

Economy (sorted only)Delivery aim within four working days after posting

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formats, volume and address accuracy……Format (sorted products only)

letter

large letter

Volume4,000 letters or 1,000 large letters

Address & Postcode accuracy90% - Entry Level

95% - Intermediate Level

Product sortation

the Royal Mail Selection Files……

These are the files that provide a unique numeric code used to sequence addresses.

Low Sort: machine-readable86 selections

OCR or Mailmark barcode for letters and large letters

Barcode for letters

High Sort: manual

1529 Direct selections

86 Residue selections

Minimum items per direct selection (sortation discount)

50 letters10 large letters

sortation criteria for low sort…..

• one level of sortation

• * if trays are to be used then an average number of items across all selections mailed to in that posting must be a minimum of

100 letter or 25 large letters

if this cannot be achieved then bags must be used

Selectionsminimum postcode & address accuracy level

(inc DPS)

Minimum volume* (trays)

Minimum volume (bags)

OCR or Mailmark

86 90% 100 letters

25 large letters

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Barcode 86 90% 100 letters 1

sortation criteria for high sort……

• Two levels of sortation available• Presentation*:

if trays are to be used then an average number of items across all selections mailed to in that posting must be a minimum of100 letter or 25 large lettersif this cannot be achieved then bags must be used

• Pricing:Minimum of 50 letters required for a ‘Direct’ discountMinimum of 10 large letters required for a ‘Direct’ discount

Selectionsminimum postcode & address accuracy level

Presentation - Minimum volume* (trays)

Pricing - Minimum no of items

Residue 86

90%

100 letters

25 large letters

1

Direct 1529 100 letters 50 letters

10 large letters

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sortation to the Selection Files…….

• Approx. % Items to Direct Selections

Assumes 100% Postcoding & National Spread

Mailing Size % Letters

(50)

% Large Letters

(10)10,000

20, 000

30,000

50,000

100,000

250,000

0

2

6

21

80

100

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83

98

100

100

100

Product presentation

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mailpiece design……

•Payment channelPost Paid Indicia (PPI) and stamps - sorted options

•Service indicatorPPI – 1st, 2nd or M – The indicator for Economy Mailings

•Return address

•Standard selection code (SSC)Optional for High Sort and Low Sort

•Design constraintsOCR, Mailmark and Barcode

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paperwork requirements……

• Please indicate that your mail is Sustainable Advertising and at which level on the following:

1. Cage Card - These are attached to the cages and provide information such as the job number, service speed, product and options, the segregation codes and the account number.

2. Line Listing - a requirement for sorted mailings, which details the selections you are mailing to and the number of items and the number of bags, trays or bundles, going to each selection. 

3. Computer Planning Report - the report produced when a computer sorts an address list in preparation of a mailing

4. OBA Sales Order (by using the correct product codes) - a specific online business account giving you access to our secure online system through which you can order the products on account

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presentation options – sorted……

Option A

CAGE

FACE & BUNDLE SECURELY

BAG & LABEL

SORT

Option B

CAGE

TRAY & LABEL

FACE CORRECTLY

SORT

Option C Option D

SORT

FACE & BUNDLE

SECURELY

CAGE

SORT

IF OVER 10mm THICK AND MIN OF 200 ITEMS

PER SELECTION, DO NOT BUNDLE

BAG ALP

CAGE

Containers for shipment……

Sortedtrays* or bags for letters

trays* or bags for large letters up to 10mm in thickness

bags or Auto Levelling Parcel containers – (ALP)’s^ for large letters over 10mm

large letters or High Sort letters may be presented as segregated bundles

*you need an average of 100 letters or 25 large letters across all selections mailed to, if you cannot meet this then use bags

^ only with pre-agreement

presentation – summary…..Traysnot permitted for large letters over 10mm thickness and can only be used if there is an

average number of items per selection across all selections being mailed to100 Letters25 Large LettersIf you cannot meet this requirement then you must use bags

Bagspermitted for all sorted products

ALPS machine-readable Large Letters over 10mm thick

Segregated bundles permitted as current including for Low Sort Large Letters, not Low Sort Letters

Unwrapped permitted as current for High Sort

Payment & pricing

Payment options……

•All Post Paid Indicia (PPI) remain the same i.e. 1st 2nd and M indicating service speed and including the ‘Delivered by Royal Mail’ logo

•Cheques not permitted and will only be allowed for Business Mail with no additional options.

•Meters no longer permitted for any of the sorted product options

•Stamps are still permitted & P3484 must be used

•Volume Related Discounts will now be allowed on some residue sort products

Examples of payment indicia……

Sustainable Advertising Mail pricing……

Price is determined by

1. the Advertising product chosen

High Sort option

Low Sort option

2. The Sustainable Advertising Mail% discount based onFormat (letter, large letter)

Weight (0-100, 101-750)

Direct or Residue

Entry or Intermediate Level

Calculate the postage as follows:1. Work out the Advertising Mail price

2. Then reduce this price by the percentage discount for Sustainable Advertising Mail

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IN SUMMARY…….

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Summary…..• Options available

High Sort

Low Sort

• LevelsEntry Level

Intermediate Level

• Formatsletters

large letters

• Machine readabilityletters – OCR, Mailmark and Barcode

large letters – OCR and Mailmark

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Royal Mail support…..

Account handler

Product literature

User Guide

Royal Mail Technical helpline 0207 371 6957

Technical Consultant - Mark Pearce 07801 777 503

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Questions?