The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) today announced a series of new sustainability goals for 2023, encompassing targets to reduce emissions across the value chain and circular economy commitments to reduce waste and increase recyclability.
According to the USPS, the new goals are aligned with the organization's ten-year plan for financial sustainability and service excellence, Delivering for America. Launched in 2021, the plan targets a $5 billion reduction in operating costs with initiatives that include reductions in the USPS regional and local transportation network, adding fewer facilities, moving mail regionally and using less air travel, as well as measures to internalize operations, consolidate operations, modernize facilities, among others. The USPS said each of these initiatives will enable significant reductions in carbon emissions.
Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy said:
“As we transform our operational processes and invest in new automation, new technologies and upgraded facilities and vehicles, we will generate significant efficiencies that will reduce our costs, minimize waste across all functions of our operations and reduce our carbon footprint. ”
USPS's new 2030 emissions targets include reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, including from fuel and electricity, by 40%, and Scope 3 value chain emissions by 20%. Initiatives to achieve these goals include moving goods from air to land transport, optimizing delivery routes for trucks and carriers, and purchasing low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.
The new circular economy goals include diverting 75% of waste from landfills, increasing the recycled content of packaging to 74%, increasing the recyclability of packaging to 88% and increasing the use of renewable energy to 10%.
USPS has also committed to increasing environmental awareness across the organization, with initiatives to educate its 640,000 employees, local communities, and federal, state, and local partners about its progress, ensure that environmental policy requirements are incorporated into operations, and provide training tools aligned with policy. and regulatory requirements for all relevant employees.
USPS Senior Director of Environmental Affairs and Corporate Sustainability Jennifer Beiro-Réveillé said:
“Our customers and partners expect the Postal Service to be efficient and environmentally responsible, and I am 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 goals help advance our commitment to being the greenest way for customers to mail and ship nationwide.”
