2Sustain

The US Postal Service is on track to meet two long-term sustainability goals.

For years now, USPS has been committed to:

• reducing energy use in its facilities 30 percent by 2015

• reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by fiscal year 2020.

New last week, the agency reported significant progress on both fronts.

USPS says it has achieved:

• an 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its fiscal year (FY) 2008 baseline –that’s a reduction of 1,067,834 metric tons of CO2 and an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 204,000 passenger vehicles

• a 12 percent reduction in facility energy-related emissions from its fiscal year (FY) 2008 baseline –enough to power approximately 39,000 average American households for a year.

What’s contributing to these positive results? According to USPS, the reductions are coming from a variety of sources, including: (more…)

The US Postal Service is starting to see significant cost savings from its green initiatives.

For example, the Postal Service says its “Lean Green Teams” reduced energy, water, solid waste to landfills and petroleum fuel use last year, saving the agency more than $5 million in 2010 alone. These teams also helped recycle more than 222,000 tons of material — an increase of nearly 8,000 tons over the prior year — which generated $13 million in revenue, and saved an additional $9.1 million in landfill fees.

According to the Postal Service, these employee green teams are helping mesh low-cost and no-cost sustainable practices with performance management systems to help the agency meet its specific sustainability goals by the target date in 2015. These goals include reducing

• facility energy use 30 percent,
• water use 10 percent,
• petroleum fuel use 20 percent, and
• landfill waste 50 percent. (more…)

The U.S. Postal Service has redesigned its green-oriented website, USPS.com/green, to make it even easier for consumers to find eco-friendly options for mail and shipping.

Visit the site and you’ll learn about USPS online services, eco-friendly packaging products, and how to green your mail. (If you have a spare three minutes, you can even calculate your personal carbon footprint.)

What’s more, the site also highlights the Postal Services’ overall commitment to environmental stewardship.

For instance, I learned that the Postal Service has established several very specific green goals, including: (more…)