WASHINGTON — A recognized sustainability leader and innovator, the U.S. Postal Service continued a 50-year tradition today with the issuance of its latest social awareness stamp:  Go Green. The sheet of Forever stamps features 16 actions anyone can take to make a positive impact on the environment.

The stamps and philatelic products can be ordered online at usps.com/green.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Go Green stamps took place at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School and adjoining Savoy Elementary School, steps from the largest green garden in the Washington, DC, public school system.

“We’re creating a culture of conservation at the Postal Service that will have a lasting impact in our workplace and our communities,” said Ronald A. Stroman, Deputy Postmaster General. “The Go Green stamps carry 16 simple, green messages that have the power to help make the world a better place for us and future generations.”

Joining Stroman at the ceremony were Lisa P. Jackson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator; Alexandra Pardo, Thurgood Marshall academic director; Patrick Pope, Savoy principal and Emil Dzuray, USPS Acting Chief Sustainability Officer. William McDonough, cofounder and principal of MBDC, creators of the Cradle to Cradle certification program, participated as an honored guest.

"With these Go Green stamps, the Postal Service is reminding us of the important steps we can take each day to have an impact on the world around us," said Jackson. "These stamps demonstrate individual actions — from saving energy or water to reducing waste — that add up to a big difference for our health and our environment."

In a crowd-pleasing finale, the event closed with the arrival of a three-wheeled electric mail delivery vehicle, which delivered ceremonial, indigenous trees for both schools — symbolic of USPS delivering a greener America.

USPS is the only mailing and shipping company in the world whose stamp products and shipping supplies have earned Cradle to Cradle Certification, meaning they meet established standards for human and environmental health and recyclability.

USPS has been environmentally friendly since 1899 when it tested the first electric vehicle in Buffalo, NY. Today, the agency operates more than 44,000 alternative fuel capable mail delivery vehicles across the country, including ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas and electric. Since 2005, USPS has increased its use of alternative fuels 133 percent, and since 2003, has reduced its facility energy use 28 percent. The Postal Service chose the Go Green stamps as this year’s social awareness stamps to help raise awareness about helping the environment.

To learn more about USPS sustainability initiatives, visit the USPS green newsroom and usps.com/green.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Office facilities, at the Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Go Green Stamp
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by June 14, 2011.

How to Order First-Day Covers
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO  64121-9014

Philatelic Products
Nine philatelic products are available for this stamp issue:

Items with an asterisk (*) will use the 128 barcode from Stamp Fulfillment Services. All other philatelic products will continue to use barcode series A, with the exception of the Yearbook and the Guide Book.

To purchase Go Green stamps and philatelic, licensed and retail products, visit usps.com/green.

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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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 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 $67 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 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. 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 six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.