Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decrease by More Than 1 Million Metric Tons

WASHINGTON — Demonstrating continued progress after five years of annual corporate sustainability reporting, the U.S. Postal Service recently released its 2012 Annual Sustainability Report, highlighting accomplishments including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste and facility energy use.

The Postal Service reported a 9.9 percent decrease, or 1.3 million metric tons, in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2008 — nearly equivalent to removing 270,000 passenger vehicles from the road for a year. The goal is to reduce GHG emissions by 20 percent by fiscal year 2020. In addition, the Postal Service decreased facility energy use by 34 percent since 2003, achieving the goal of a 30 percent reduction by 2015.

“The Postal Service continues to make sustainability progress that is not only the right thing to do for the environment, but is right for our business,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Thomas G. Day. “We are exceeding targets in key areas and are working to improve efforts across the organization every day.”

Other key highlights from the year include:

• Registering 800 Lean Green Teams of employees who adopt low- and no-cost green practices in their facilities
• Diverting 48 percent of solid waste to recycling, which generated a savings of $25 million in waste hauling and generated $23.8 million in revenue
• Issuing 15 stamps in the Earthscapes stamp collection, providing a reminder that the environment we share is worth protecting
• Maintaining 42,218 alternative fuel-capable vehicles in the Postal Service fleet
• Decreasing 11 trillion British thermal units (Btu) from facility energy use since 2003

“Sustainability progress requires the commitment of all postal employees in more than 31,000 facilities,” Day said. “By incorporating these principles into our day-to-day work as well as our strategic planning, we will continue to achieve our goals.”

The Postal Service also released its 2013 Office of Management and Budget Sustainability and Energy Scorecard. The Postal Service is on track for four out of five of the federal objectives. As a self-funded agency, the Postal Service reports voluntarily, but continues to align many objectives to follow the scorecard.

The Postal Service has been recognized for several environmental awards, including the 2012 GreenGov Presidential award, a 2012 EPA WasteWise recognition award and most recently, 10 Federal Green Challenge awards. 

The 2012 Annual Sustainability Report also can be found on Slideshare at: http://www.slideshare.net/UnitedStatesPostalService/2013-sustainabilityreportweb.