Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ... Oh My!


Lean Green Teams last year helped the Postal Service achieve significant results in energy reduction and resource conservation, saving USPS more than $5 million in decreased energy, water, solid waste to landfills and petroleum fuel use. In addition, team efforts helped USPS recycle more than 222,000 tons of material, which generated $13 million in revenue and avoided $9.1 million in landfill fees.

“Across the country, postal employees are participating in more than 80 cross-functional Lean Green Teams,” says Emil Dzuray, acting Chief Sustainability Officer, adding that USPS plans to deploy Lean Green Teams nationwide by 2012.

The teams are helping mesh low-cost and no-cost sustainable practices with performance management systems to help USPS meet the following reduction goals by 2015:

Facility energy use — 30 percent.
Water use — 10 percent.
Petroleum fuel use — 20 percent.
Landfill waste — 50 percent.

“With nearly 32,000 facilities, a presence in every community, and the largest civilian fleet in the nation, we know how important our efforts are to make a positive impact on the environment,” says Dzuray. “Our employee green teams are an important part of building a conservation culture and reducing our carbon footprint.”

To learn more about the Postal Service’s sustainability initiatives, visit usps.com/green and the green newsroom.

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