The U.S. Postal Service® has been committed to saving energy and reducing our impact on the environment for a long time now. We have a rich history of setting goals to reduce our impact. We know that our goals can’t be achieved in a day, but will take years of concentrated effort. Additionally, goals cannot be simply words on paper — they must be taken to heart and turned into action.
Our current sustainability goals, which were formulated in the early 2000s, are an example of that long-term thinking. Included in these goals is our energy reduction goal. The target was 30 percent reduction by 2015. Through the hard work of our employees, the U.S. Postal Service reduced facility energy usage 31.4 percent from 2003 to 2014. This means that we achieved our goal one year early and exceeded the target.
Our other goals include greenhouse gas reduction targets — the objective is to reduce emissions 20 percent by 2020. To date, we have achieved a 13.3 percent reduction and are well on our way to realizing this goal.
This coming year is a time we will examine our successes and identify areas of opportunity to formulate new goals for the next decade. We are embarking on a process to update not just our energy-related goals, but our sustainability goals. Additionally, to better align our organization to our federal peers, we’ve decided to readjust our goals this year to reflect a new timeframe.
We will purchase new vehicles for both mail delivery and non-mail hauling transport in the coming years. We will also invest in updates to our facility lighting and HVAC systems. As we make these changes, the electric grid in the U.S. will become cleaner, advancing us further in pursuit of our goals.
Look for more information about our revised goals in the coming months.
I would also encourage our employees and customers to make goals to reduce energy consumption at home. Whether you decide to reduce your family’s water use or decrease your home’s heating impact this winter, there are a number of affordable ways to take action.
Thank you for taking the time to commit to saving energy this Energy Action Month.
Thomas G. Day, USPS Chief Sustainability Officer
To learn more about USPS sustainability efforts, visit http://usps.com/green.
To save energy at home every day, see the links below:
n Department of Energy
http://energy.gov/energysaver/energy-saver
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
n Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.energystar.gov/
http://www.epa.gov/
— Energy Initiatives, Office of Sustainability, 9-17-15
