Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

The Postal Service has a responsibility to provide universal mail service to the citizens of the United States. This includes when severe weather events destroy or damage portions of the Postal Service infrastructure, or otherwise disrupt mail service. We are quick to respond and restore services. As our climate changes, these disruptions may occur more frequently, and we must be prepared to respond accordingly.

Toward this effort, the Postal Service has convened a Climate Change Adaptation Working Group (CCAWG) that operates cross-functionally to integrate a changing climate into the Postal Service’s operational and long-term planning, strategies and processes. In June 2014, USPS submitted to the White House Council on Environmental Quality the Climate Change Adaptation Plan. This public plan identifies and prioritizes actions for USPS to better understand and address the impact of climate change.

The Postal Service also submitted an Internal Climate Change Adaptation Plan to the Postmaster General in September 2014. This more involved document discusses the steps each functional group is taking to integrate climate adaptation into our business processes so we can adjust to future changes and improve our ability to respond to climate-related risks.

Moving forward, the CCAWG will continue to identify actions and prioritize new and existing actions to address the challenge of making the Postal Service climate resilient. You can read our plan at: http://about.usps.com/what-we-are-doing/green/climatechange.htm.