D. POLLUTION PREVENTION AND RECYCLING

During 2005 a renewed emphasis was placed on environmentally preferable purchasing. The Postal Service worked with suppliers to further expand green product offerings in the custodial, maintenance, repair, and operating categories. The Postal Service continues to advocate the elimination of products containing targeted chemicals and the purchase of products with environmental attributes, including those certified under the EPA's Energy Star Program.

Most Postal Service facilities participate in some form of recycling and/or waste reduction, including recycling undeliverable bulk business mail. In 2005 approximately 1 million tons of wastepaper, cardboard, plastics, aluminum cans, and other material was recycled and generated over $9.5 million in revenue.

The Postal Service continued successful partnerships with UNICOR Federal Prison Industries, Topeka Area Retarded Citizens Industries, and DOVEBID, Inc., which facilitate the reuse or recovery of surplus and obsolete electronic equipment. In 2004 these partnerships led to the recycling of over 350 tons of computers and parts, and 50 thousand computers were resold instead of being sent to landfills.

E. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The Web-enabled Environmental Management Information System (EMIS) automates the planning, tracking, and reporting of postal environmental business processes for compliance and auditing. It is used for tracking environmental compliance and collecting and analyzing energy consumption data at all types of postal facilities. For any facility, it allows updating and viewing of inventory data on stationary source emissions, such as boilers, and tracking the use and disposal of hazardous wastes.

EMIS provides both high-level and detailed data on asbestos-containing materials to track compliance with associated laws and regulations and provide safety and health-related information. Telemetered data that shows comprehensive energy usage information will eventually be fed into WebEMIS.

F. “GREENING THE MAIL”

The Postal Service continues to work with mailing industry stakeholders, including the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the Envelope Manufacturer's Association (EMA), and the American Forest and Paper Association to build on past efforts of the "Greening of the Mail" task force. These initiatives promote environmental and economic solutions to social issues.

To attain this goal, the Postal Service and its industry stakeholders are enhancing programs that encourage waste prevention through better mailing-list management, increasing the recycled content in mailings, and reducing the environmental impact of mail.

Studies based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that mail has a very minimal impact on municipal solid waste, and a cost-benefit analysis indicates that mail actually has a net benefit to society. The Postal Service is also exploring opportunities to partner with firms needing some mechanism to help with returns of recyclable material.

The Postal Service is working with the DMA and the mailing industry to reduce unwanted mail. Increasing address accuracy to avoid duplication is part of this program. The Postal Service supports the DMA's "Mail Preference List." The Mail Preference service is similar to the "Do Not Call" list, and most DMA member firms check their lists against the Mail Preference List.

The Federal Reserve, in response to a congressional inquiry, conducted a special study of the financial industry's opt-out programs and found widespread awareness of the program and effective industry-wide and firm-specific processes for customers to remove themselves from mailing lists. The Federal Reserve study concluded that financial direct mail represents a net benefit to the economy, even if response rates are low. Credit card firms, for example, note that about 70 percent of their accounts resulted from mail offers. The Postal Service is working with the industry to help its mailing programs become more relevant and effective to those receiving the offers.

2. Facilities

A. REAL ESTATE INVENTORY

B. REALTY ASSET MANAGEMENT

Realty Asset Management (RAM) provides internal expertise to identify, analyze, and maximize the return on underutilized and surplus real property assets controlled by the Postal Service. RAM generates income from real estate assets by maximizing the value of Postal Service property through its highest and best use, leasing or subleasing excess space to government and public tenants, and selling surplus property.