Leaving a green footprint
The Postal Service is integrating sound environmental business practices into its day-to-day operations to deliver a greener tomorrow.
Greener facilities
Our facilities are using less energy, reducing their impact on the environment. Between 2003 and 2009, USPS reduced overall building-related energy consumption 10.8 trillion British thermal units, the energy equivalent of more than 300,000 average U.S. households.
Solar array at USPS facility
We use environmentally friendly building components and sustainable building designs, including recycled materials, high-efficiency lighting, low-water-use fixtures, and solar photovoltaic systems to generate electricity.
We also have the largest green roof in New York City. It reduces storm water runoff by as much as 75% in summer and 40% in winter, saving the Postal Service $30,000 annually in heating and cooling costs.
Find out more about our sustainable and energy-efficient building projects.
Greener vehicles
We have more than 44,000 alternative fuel capable vehicles, using electricity, ethanol, compressed natural gas, liquid propane, bio-diesel and hydrogen fuel cells to deliver the mail.
Hydrogen fuel cell delivery vehicle
In New York City, 30 electric vans transport mail to processing facilities. In Florida, California and Arizona, three-wheel electric vehicles deliver mail every day, producing zero emissions and costing two cents a mile to operate.
Five companies were selected in 2009 for a pilot program to convert gasoline Long Life Vehicles to battery electric vehicles. Testing of the vehicle prototypes begins in spring 2011.
Learn more about our alternative fuel-capable vehicles.
See how we’re complying with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Postal Service Executive Fleet in accordance with the Presidential Memorandum, Federal Fleet Performance
Delivering a greener tomorrow
USPS is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future in other ways as well. Employee Lean Green Teams help build a conservation culture by finding low-cost or no-cost ways to improve resource use and minimize impacts on the environment.
Post Office Box Lobby Recycling bin
Postal Service stamps and shipping products, including Priority Mail and Express Mail boxes and envelopes, have earned Cradle-to-Cradle certification which means they are designed with materials that are safe for human health and the environment.
And we’re big on recycling. In 2010 we recycled almost 220,000 tons of materials and generated more than $13 million in revenue through expanded recycling and waste prevention efforts. And more than 10,000 postal facilities have secure recycling bins to make it easier than ever for customers to recycle unwanted mail.
Bottom line, when it comes to sustainable practices, we’re greener than you might think.
For more information on these topics, read our fact sheets:
