Consultative Committee

As of 1st July 2022, private companies are welcome to apply for the membership of the Consultative Committee.

Postal stakeholders that are not public postal operators or regulators can add their voice to the UPU's deliberations through the Consultative Committee (CC). The Committee represents the interests of the wider postal sector and provides a framework for effective dialogue.

The CC Chair is pleased to inform you that Ship2MyID was elected as CC Vice-Chair on 21 October 2022.

In accordance with article 4.2 of the CC Rules of Procedure, the Vice-Chair (Mr Santosh Gopal) takes up his duties immediately upon election and serves concurrently until the next UPU Congress; his mandate shall be renewable.

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of ACSL to become a Gold member of the UPU CC has been approved.

ACSL is a publicly listed Japan-based drone manufacturer with focus on industrial applications including asset inspections, disaster reconnaissance and drone deliveries. ACSL has been developing cutting-edge autonomous control technology as its core - enabling productivity improvements, unmanning operations and reducing dangerous tasks from its clients. The company focuses on identifying technical stacks required to unman a client operation through Proof-of-Concept trials, and then transitions to mass production of the “application specific drones” with high quality and reliability.

ACSL is honored to join the UPU Consultative Committee and contribute to share information and help lead discussions around standardization of drone postal delivery technologies to meet the increasing demand of the global market.

Satoshi Washiya,
President

 

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of Pitney Bowes to become a Gold member of the UPU CC has been approved.

Founded in 1920, Pitney Bowes is a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics, and financial services to more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Small business, retail, enterprise, and government clients around the world rely on Pitney Bowes to remove the complexity of sending mail and parcels.

Cliff Rucker, SVP

 

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of ADS Group (Africa Development Solutions) to become a Gold member of the UPU CC has been approved.

ADS operates as an integrated platform, specializing in project management as well as the provision of services and equipment to African countries, African and foreign multinationals, and the people of that continent. Depending on the needs identified, ADS is able to provide support throughout the value chain – from project financing to the delivery of finished products – or join at specific stages where its expertise is most relevant.

The ambition is to create a new business model that is adapted to African ways of operating and reliant on agile platforms, in order to provide relevant solutions throughout the continent. By involving the best expertise, both from within and outside Africa, ADS can propose tailored responses. With products and equipment, proven pan-African capabilities, and the flexibility to adjust to needs and projects: at each step, ADS knows how to innovate.

Samba Bathily,
 Founder and Chairman

For more information, please contact the CC Secretariat by e-mail at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int

If you would like to become a Consultative Committee member, please complete the application form using one of the following options:

• Download the default PDF application form, print, fill in manually, scan and send it back to cc@upu.int
• Download the interactive PDF application form (recommended), fill in, sign digitally and send it back by clicking the "SEND BY E-MAIL" button. Please note that it is required to use ADOBE Acrobat Reader, if you chose this option.

Should you have any questions, please contact us by e-mail: cc@upu.int

As of 1 July 2022, the CC will comprise non-governmental organizations (including organizations representing customers, delivery service providers, postal employees or postal employers); philanthropic entities; standardization, financial and development organizations; suppliers of goods and services to the postal services sector; transportation entities and other private sector entities; and like organizations of individuals and companies which have an interest in supporting the mission and objectives of the Union. 

Any requests for membership of the CC, as submitted by the entities or high-level figures referred to in article 120 of the UPU General Regulations, shall be accompanied by the prior written authorization or recommendation of the corresponding Union member country, in accordance with article 120.2.

All Union member countries will receive a circular letter informing them of the decisions of the CA and the new membership application procedure for the Consultative Committee as of 1 July 2022. 

The CC secretariat will process the written authorization or recommendation of the corresponding Union member country upon receipt of the duly completed and signed membership request form. 

In other words, a CC applicant is responsible for contacting the competent authority (ministry or postal regulator) of the Union member country in which the applicant is established, to seek validation/accreditation from the said authority in the form of signature of section 2 (Authorization) of the CC membership request form.

In addition to validating/accrediting the CC membership application, the competent authority (ministry or postal regulator) of the Union member country will also ascertain:

• In the case of a non-governmental organization, that the entity is established (and registered, if so required) in the Union member country;
• In the case of a company, that the entity is registered in the Union member country, in accordance with the laws and regulations of that country, as an entity operating in the postal market.

There are two types of membership of the Consultative Committee, with their own particular benefits and fees:

• Non-governmental organizations wishing to apply for membership of the CC (specific membership benefits as presented in the scale of fees defined by the CC)
• Individual companies wishing to apply for membership of the CC (specific membership benefits as presented in the scale of fees defined by the CC) in one of the following three categories:

1. Gold member
2. Silver member
3. Bronze member

Please note that according to the Consultative Committee Rules of Procedure, art. 11, Financing of the Committee, members are obligated to pay annual membership fees. The annual membership fee to be paid by the “Gold member” is 20.000CHF, by “Silver member” is 15.000CHF and by “Bronze member” is 10.000CHF within one calendar year. The annual fee for NGOs is 5.000CHF.

The new members who join the UPU CC in the course of the year will receive an invoice for membership fee-2022 with the amount to be paid only for the months left before the end of the year 2022 on a pro rata basis.

Six thematic chapters have been established to complement the new structure of the Consultative Committee, as of 1 July 2022:

• Policy and regulations: liaison with CA C 2 and the POC C 1 Standards Board;
• Freight and transport: liaison with the POC C 1 Transport Group (and subgroups for different transport modes);
• Customs and product security: liaison with the POC C 1 Customs Group and Postal Security Group;
• Addressing and direct marketing: liaison with the POC C 1 Addressing Group and POC C 3 Direct Marketing Advisory Board; liaison with the POC C 3 World Association for the Development of Philately;
• UPU E-commerce: liaison with CA C 3, POC C 2 and POC C 3; 
• UPU Postal financial services: liaison with POC C 4.

The work of the CC will be conducted according to these thematic chapters, which reflect the membership structure of the CC. Each thematic chapter will be represented by a rapporteur. The rapporteur will be elected and appointed by the CC to (i) represent the thematic chapter, (ii) present any opinions developed by the CC and provide input to the relevant CA and POC commit­tees and working groups, (iii) report to the CC and its members, and (iv) propose appropriate responses to and positions on work proposals and working drafts. Sub-themes and sub-rapporteurs may be created in the future.

The committee plays a key role in developing a more global vision of the issues affecting the sector. This role enhances the UPU's value to the industry and its effectiveness.

The Consultative Committee (CC) meets once a year at the UPU headquarters in Berne at the same time as the Postal Operations Council (POC) meetings.

The next CC Management Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 2023. The formal invitation will be sent out shortly. You will receive the Zoom link for the remote meeting to be held in English and French.

The next CC General Assembly scheduled to take place during POC/CA S3 from 1 to 12 May 2023. The exact date will be communicated later.

If you have any questions, please contact the CC Secretariat at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int.

The Consultative Committee is holding a series of three one-hour webinars dedicated to the disrupted market environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: accelerated digitalization of communications and commerce, leading to changes in e commerce logistics; changing consumer behaviors; and what citizens should expect from the universal service obligation in their respective countries.

Watch webinar 1:  In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 1, you will be hearing a presentation by the Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe based on a recent survey. The survey was carried out in the context of the second lockdown at the end of 2020, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the e-commerce sector in Europe.	Watch webinar 2: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 2, you will be hearing a presentation by the Chief of the ICT Policy Section at UNCTAD based on a recent UNCTAD report titled “COVID-19 and e‑commerce: a global review”. The aim of this UNCTAD report was to jointly assess how the impact of the pandemic was playing out in various regions of the world.	Watch Webinar 3: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 3, you will be hearing a presentation by the Executive Director of the International Mailers Advisory Group partly based on a report of individual research by the USPS Office of Inspector General on the universal service obligation (USO).