The 2025 "Double 11" peak season saw express delivery volume hit a new record high. According to monitoring data from the State Post Bureau, from October 21st to November 11th, postal and express delivery enterprises across the country handled a total of 13.938 billion parcels. The average daily volume during this period reached 634 million parcels, which is 117.8% of the normal daily business volume. The peak single-day volume during the season reached 777 million parcels, setting a new record.

In recent years, China's express delivery business volume has maintained rapid growth. In 2024, express delivery volume reached 175.08 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%, ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years; business revenue reached 1.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%; the average daily business volume reached nearly 480 million parcels, with per capita reception of express parcels exceeding 120. The growth momentum remained strong in 2025, with the cumulative express delivery volume from January to October reaching 162.68 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%. However, this continuous expansion has also brought about a series of environmental challenges, including increased packaging consumption, growing energy demand, and carbon emission pressures.

Green governance of express delivery packaging involves multiple stages such as production, use, recycling, and disposal. Experts point out that coordinated efforts across the entire chain are key to addressing both the symptoms and root causes. The revised "Interim Regulations on Express Delivery," which came into effect on June 1st this year, clarifies the responsibilities of relevant entities at various stages of the chain, filling a regulatory gap in express packaging governance in China.

In terms of environmental performance measurement, carbon emissions are a core indicator. Looking at the eight listed express companies that have disclosed 2024 ESG reports (SF Holding, JD Logistics, ZTO Express, Yunda Holdings, STO Express, Deppon Logistics, YTO Express, J&T Express), the completeness of information disclosure is gradually improving: YTO began disclosing carbon emission data starting in 2024; STO disclosed its Scope 3 emissions for the first time in 2024; Yunda has not yet started disclosing Scope 3 emission data. Therefore, apart from Yunda, the other seven companies have started accounting for and disclosing Scope 3 emissions to varying degrees. Among them, SF Holding discloses the broadest scope, covering 10 detailed categories of Scope 3 emissions, including purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, etc. The specific performance is as follows:

1. Total Carbon Emissions: SF Express Has the Largest Total, J&T Express Has the Largest Increase

In terms of the sum of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, in 2024, SF Holding (including Kerry Logistics) had the highest total carbon emissions at 4.569 million tonnes CO₂e, 1.45 times that of the second-placed JD Logistics (3.141 million tonnes CO₂e). Even excluding Kerry Logistics, its emissions still reached 4.375 million tonnes CO₂e, 1.39 times that of JD Logistics. Regarding year-on-year changes, only Yunda Holdings achieved a reduction in Scope 1+2 emissions, while J&T Express saw the highest increase, at 24.4%.

When including Scope 3 emissions, SF still had the highest total carbon emissions among the companies that disclosed this data. However, excluding Kerry Logistics, its total carbon emissions (9.463 million tonnes CO₂e) were lower than JD Logistics's (9.973 million tonnes CO₂e). J&T Express saw a sharp 62.9% year-on-year increase in its Scope 1+2+3 total, a growth rate far exceeding other companies.

Table: Companies' Total Carbon Emissions in 2024

• Unit: tonnes CO₂e
• Data Source: Company ESG Reports and Annual Reports

2. Carbon Emissions per Unit of Revenue

In 2024, all eight companies achieved positive revenue growth, but their carbon intensity performance varied:

In terms of Scope 1+2 emission intensity, SF Holding was the lowest at 16.07 tCO₂e/million yuan, while ZTO Express was the highest at 43.09 tCO₂e/million yuan, 2.7 times that of SF. Regarding year-on-year changes, JD Logistics saw the largest increase in Scope 1+2 intensity, up 8.2%, while Yunda Holdings saw the largest decrease, down 30.3%.

Looking at Scope 1+2+3 emission intensity, among the companies disclosing data, Deppon Logistics had the highest intensity (81.92 tCO₂e/million yuan), while STO Express had the lowest (29.51 tCO₂e/million yuan). SF Holding, JD Logistics, and ZTO Express achieved year-on-year decreases in Scope 1+2+3 emission intensity, while J&T Express saw a significant year-on-year increase of 40.5%.

Table: Companies' Carbon Emission Intensity per Unit Revenue in 2024

• Unit: tCO₂e/million yuan
• Data Source: Company ESG Reports, Annual Reports, Wind

It is important to note that despite SF having the broadest Scope 3 accounting coverage, its carbon emission intensity per unit revenue (Scope 1+2+3) still decreased by 6.5% in 2024. Therefore, the leading performer is actually SF. In November 2023, SF officially signed and submitted a "Letter of Commitment for Corporate Ambition for 1.5°C" to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to strive to achieve science-based greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050.

Table: Scope 3 Accounting Coverage of 5 Companies

Data Source: Company ESG Reports

Although most express companies have not yet set clear medium to long-term carbon neutrality targets, it is commendable that to promote low-carbon transition, most are actively exploring areas like green packaging, transportation, and resource recycling. This year's "Double 11" not only focused on creating a safe, smooth, and warm peak season but also specifically emphasized creating a green peak season. Various delivery enterprises partnered with upstream e-commerce companies to use original packaging, tape-free cardboard boxes, and reusable packaging, and increased the application of new energy vehicles.

While pursuing green development, express service quality is also steadily improving. The State Post Bureau's Q3 2025 express service survey (covering EMS, SF Express, ZTO Express, YTO Express, Yunda Express, STO Express, JD Express, Deppon Express, and J&T Express) showed: (1) The public satisfaction score for user express service was 85.0 points, up 1.3 points year-on-year. In terms of brand public satisfaction, the higher-scoring brands were SF Express and JD Express. (2) The end-to-end time limit for express services was 51.32 hours, shortened by 2 hours year-on-year. The 72-hour on-time delivery rate was 86.47%, an increase of 2.08 percentage points year-on-year. Among them, the brands with higher 72-hour on-time delivery rates were EMS and SF Express.

The last-mile delivery points and couriers are the key links in the delivery service reaching users, and their operation and personnel stability affect the service quality of the industry. The State Post Bureau mentioned in the "2025 Closer-to-the-People Practical Initiatives for the Postal and Express Delivery Industry": "Select 20 cities to pilot the labor contract system in the express delivery industry, promoting express enterprises to sign labor contracts with employees in accordance with the law."

However, reviewing the various ESG reports reveals that although they are extensive, the depth of disclosure on key issues such as courier rights protection and fee mechanisms remains insufficient. Relatively speaking, JD Logistics's disclosure contains more substantive details; its report stated: As of the end of 2024, over 1,200 front-line employees had honorably retired from JD Logistics, achieving a secure retirement life with support for aging, medical care, and injury compensation. It adheres to signing labor contracts with all front-line employees, has upgraded social security from "Five Social Insurances and One Housing Fund" to "Six Social Insurances and One Housing Fund," covering core protections like pension, medical care, and occupational injury, and the contribution base increases in sync with wages.

In terms of overall disclosure quality, while all companies' ESG reports cover the three major topics of environment, social, and governance, there are significant differences in the data depth of key performance indicators. In October, the China Express Association released a draft group standard for the "Guidelines for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Information Disclosure in the Express Industry," aiming to standardize the disclosure standards for ESG information of express enterprises.

Regarding ESG ratings, according to the ratings from MSCI, S&P, United Credit, Zhiding, and Huazheng, SF Holding ranks first in all ratings, with an MSCI rating of 'A', leading overall performance. JD Logistics is in the second tier, with an MSCI rating of 'BBB'; ZTO Express and J&T Express received MSCI ratings of 'BB'. The ratings from United Credit are relatively concentrated, distributed in the BBB to BBB+ range.

Table: Corporate ESG Ratings

Overall, China's express industry is transitioning from "high-speed growth" to "high-quality development." The level of green development needs improvement, the protection of front-line courier rights needs implementation, and governance systems need refinement. Enterprises should gradually move from "competing on speed and price" towards "competing on governance, responsibility, and sustainability."

Author：Qinger