Under the terms of the deal, TNT will collect and sort hundreds of thousands of charity direct mailings before Royal Mail completes the final mile delivery.

Peter Frings, managing director at Brightsource, said that TNT was aligned with the company's environmental goal of enabling charities to accurately preview and control the carbon emissions on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

He added: "We look forward to working together with TNT Post to offer our customers a truly environmentally responsible service, while providing fantastic value for money."

TNT will partner with Brightsource on its downstream access postal service, Fastrack, which was launched in June 2006. It is designed to limit VAT payments because ancillary services such as postage can be zero-rated if offered by the same supplier.

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post, said the deal "reinforced its position as the main challenger to Royal Mail".

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