Sustainable Mail™ sets out a standard for permissible materials, ensuring the mail pack is recyclable in the majority of local authority areas.

Consumers are also made more aware of recyclability by the inclusion of WRAP’s ‘Recycle Now’ logo and messaging on the mail piece.

We recognise that sourcing the permitted materials could raise your production costs. That’s why Sustainable Mail™ provides a price incentive of up to 1.0p per letter.

With prices up to 4.7% below standard Mailsort®, changing your mailing processes to comply with our Sustainable Mail™ specification could make sense both from a financial and an environmental perspective. To enjoy the best prices, your mailings will need to comply with both our entry and intermediate level specifications. 

Royal Mail, ISBA, Acxiom and the DMA have been working in partnership with BSI British Standards to develop a new environmental standard for direct marketing called PAS 2020. The standard, which has been reached through consultation with the wider direct marketing industry, will be launched in January 2009.

Our Sustainable Mail™ specification has been aligned to PAS 2020 and gives you guidance on how to prepare your mail to have least environmental impact.

There are two levels in our specification: entry level and intermediate level. Both will evolve over time to reflect changing capabilities of local authorities to recycle material, as well as technological developments in the industry. The product specification will change from time to time as it is linked to the PAS 2020 specification. PAS 2020 will be reviewed at least every 2 years but smaller changes may be made more frequently. You will be given notice of any changes to the specification.

To qualify for Sustainable Mail™ you must satisfy the entry level criteria as a minimum. For the intermediate level, you must fulfil both the entry level and the intermediate level specifications.

Please note that a change has been made to the specification. Brown cardboard is now accepted by local authorities which means that it has been removed from the intermediate level of the specification and will be accepted.

• The minimum Sustainable Mail™ standard
• Criteria for paper and data management
• Save up to 2%

Download full specification

• Entry level specification must be satisfied
• Advanced data cleansing and recycling criteria
• Save up to 4.7%

Download full specification

Sustainable Mail is currently available to customers posting in either bags or trays in line with the requirements for Mailsort. Royal Mail is also looking into the possibility of making trays a prerequisite of the intermediate level. Any change to the current specification will be communicated in advance with at least 6 month's notice.

A Sustainable Mail™ option will be available on all variants of Mailsort® (except Mailsort® Light), for letters and large letters only. Mailings must comprise a largely uniform message to all addressees, with the purpose of promoting the sale or use of products or services, or to encourage contribution to, or support of, a cause.

You will need to send a minimum of 4000 letter-sized items. If all your letters are for delivery within the same postcode area from which they have been mailed the entry requirement falls to 2,000.

Provided they comply with the entry or intermediate level specification, you can send items in the following letter and large letter formats: