• New, sweeping sustainability targets aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, grow the circular economy and increase environmental awareness across the organization
• By 2030, the Postal Service seeks to reduce emissions from fuel and electricity by 40 percent and reduce emissions from services purchased by 20 percent
• Today’s announcement comes as USPS readies to deploy first electric delivery vehicles in 2024
• The Postal Service’s plan to reduce $5 billion in operating costs will result in significant carbon reductions

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced a set of new, ambitious sustainability targets for fiscal year 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste at every level of the organization’s operations. The goals are the latest in a series of actions the Postal Service has taken to enhance sustainability across its network and day-to-day operations.

“The improvements we need to achieve in sustainability are an integral outgrowth of the broader modernization efforts we have undertaken through our 10-year Delivering for America plan,” said Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Louis DeJoy. “As we transform our operating processes and invest in new automation, new technologies, and upgraded facilities and vehicles, we will generate significant efficiencies that reduce our costs, minimize waste across all functions of our operations and slash our carbon footprint.”

The Postal Service’s Delivering for America plan focuses the organization on specific initiatives to continue to reduce $5 billion in operating costs by accomplishing the following initiatives:

1. Reduce our regional and local network transportation by at least $2.5 billion by aggregating volume in fewer facilities, moving mail and packages regionally in an integrated manner eliminating thousands of trips each day and using less air transportation.

2. Reduce our processing, distribution, and delivery costs by at least $2.5 billion by insourcing previously outsourced operations, consolidating operations out of random buildings, modernizing facilities, reorganizing operating plans and schedules, adding more sortation equipment, and improving operating tactics to increase throughput, gain productivity and increase asset utilization.

All of these initiatives will significantly reduce carbon emissions by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary operating activities that have been deployed for almost two decades.

While accomplishing these operational cost and sustainability initiatives, the Postal Service plans to grow its business by several billion dollars.

The new goals will help the Postal Service better meet the needs of the American people, according to Jennifer Beiro-Réveillé, the organization’s senior director of environmental affairs and corporate sustainability.

“Our customers and partners expect the Postal Service to be efficient and environmentally responsible and I’m proud that our leadership team has developed meaningful sustainability goals and aligned them with our operational efficiency, service improvement and revenue growth initiatives,” she said. “These new targets help advance our commitment to being the greenest way for customers to mail and ship across the country.”

Read more: USPS Press Release – February 6, 2024

Source: USPS