WASHINGTON ¶ The U.S. Postal Service today kicked off Earth Day events around the country highlighting ways the Postal Service strives to be leaner, greener, smarter and faster all year long.

"The Postal Service is in every community in every state and that gives us a responsibility to be good neighbors," said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman in remarks to employees during the Earth Day observance. "That's why we work so hard to save energy, recycle and reduce waste."

The Postal Service saved more than $55 million in fiscal year (FY) 2011 by reducing energy, water, consumables use and solid waste to landfills, conservation efforts encouraged by the Go Green Forever stamps. The Postal Service also recycled 215,000 tons of material, which generated $24 million in new revenue, for a total of $79 million.

"This year, the Postal Service is the only federal agency to respond corporate-wide to the Federal Green Challenge, a national campaign to reduce the government's impact on the environment," Stroman added.

As part of its culture of conservation, in FY 2011, the Postal Service reduced its carbon footprint and was the first government agency to win the Climate Registry Gold Status award for having lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent.

Other ways in which the Postal Service works to reduce its impact on the environment include:

• Lobby Recycling — nearly 20,000 secure recycling containers have been installed in more than 10,000 Post Offices nationwide.
• Online Services, including Move Update — approximately 12.5 million movers change their address online each year, avoiding the release of more than 20 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the environment.
• Lean Green Teams — more than 400 lean green teams help identify and implement low- and no-cost green practices to help the Postal Service meet the following sustainability goals by 2015:
  • Reduce facility energy use by 30 percent,
  • Reduce water use by 10 percent,
  • Reduce petroleum fuel use by 20 percent, and
  • Divert 50 percent of solid waste from landfills.

"With more than 32,000 facilities, a presence in every community and the largest civilian fleet in the nation, we know how important are our efforts to make a positive impact on the environment, on Earth Day, and every day," said Thomas G. Day, chief sustainability officer.

Long a sustainability leader, the Postal Service has won numerous environmental honors, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WasteWise Partner of the Year award in 2010 and 2011 and the EPA's National Partnership for Environmental Priorities award in 2011.

For more information about the Postal Service's sustainability initiatives and the Go Green Forever stamps, visit usps.com/green and the usps green newsroom.

USPS participates in the International Post Corporation's Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System, the global postal industry's program to reduce its carbon footprint 20 percent by 2020 based on an FY 2008 baseline.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S.

Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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