Postal Blue is Really Green!

From blue collection boxes, to blue uniforms, to the blue eagle logo, you may not realize just how green the Postal Service really is. In fact, the Postal Service is one of the greenest of all federal agencies.

This month the Postal Service announced the results of its first greenhouse gas report, its “carbon footprint.” The report showed that the Postal Service’s “direct” carbon footprint is only one twentieth of 1 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in America. That’s pretty green for an agency with 220,000 vehicles — the largest civilian fleet in the world — 34,000 facilities (more than McDonalds and Starbucks combined) and 618,000 employees.

GREENHOUSE GAS STUDY 2009
By The Numbers (national figures)

5.3 million metric tons, total greenhouse gas emissions for our facility and vehicle operations
20% GHG reduction goal by 2020
30% energy use reduction goal by 2015
20% petroleum fuel use reduction goal by 2015
43,000 alternative-fuel capable vehicles in our fleet
10,000 non-fuel efficient vehicles retired from our fleet
61% increase of alternative fuel (E-85) usage since 2005
1.4 million mail pieces delivered by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
4 pennies: per mile cost for each T-3 electric delivery vehicle 24,000 tons of paper diverted from landfills by our Post Office Box Lobby Recycling Program
17% reduction in facility energy use since 2003
875 billion BTUs saved per year (the energy equivalent of 27,000 US households)
500 million Cradle to Cradle certified Express Mail, Priority Mail, and ReadyPost recyclable packaging and supplies provided to customers each year
70 awards won for environmental leadership

As an independent federal agency that doesn’t receive tax dollars, the Postal Service is not required to take all these steps to be green, but the Postal Service has been and continues to be an environmental leader, committed to delivering now without compromising the needs of the future.