The US Postal Service Charts Course for Sustainable Future

The U.S. Postal Service's sustainability goals and plans were posted by the White House today on its new website, whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq. The website presents federal government goals for clean energy, reducing waste and greenhouse gas reduction. The Postal Service's Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan joins other agency plans to help reach the Obama Administration's green goals.

"The Postal Service voluntarily worked with 55 other federal agencies to publicly release our plans to achieve a sustainable future," said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. "The Postal Service is committed to building on our history of green innovation and social responsibility. This plan is another example of our sustainability leadership role."

With a large national presence and more than 33,000 facilities, the Postal Service takes steps daily to minimize its environmental impact. By achieving the goals outlined in its Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan, the Postal Service maximizes resources, reduces costs, and benefits its employees, customers and the communities it serves.

The USPS Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan describes the agency's goals and targets, and summarizes implementation initiatives. The Postal Service's green practices and successes are widely recognized, including its recycling and mail-back programs, electric and alternative fuel-powered vehicles and Cradle to Cradle Certified™ mailing and shipping supplies.

The plan outlines a number of milestones:

• Became one of the first federal agencies to have a sustainability officer
• Was the first federal agency to publish a third-party-verified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory and commit to absolute GHG reductions
• Is one of the first federal agencies to issue Global Reporting Initiative-based public sustainability performance reports (2008 and 2009)
• Joined other posts at the 2009 United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen to become the first industry sector to commit to GHG reductions
• Named "most trusted government agency" for six consecutive years.

"The Postal Service is making progress in achieving its sustainability goals and continues to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable future for our organization, our employees and our customers," said Pulcrano.

The Postal Service has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle, 10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year, 2009.