Management Program of the Year Award. Energy conservation activities were also recognized through the award of a Presidential Award for Leadership in Energy Management given to the Pacific Area Energy Program Committee (PAEPC) for delivering significant results in key areas such as energy efficiency and energy conservation, increased use of renewables, improved electric reliability, and reduced energy costs. Ongoing activities have resulted in more than $108 million in completed energy efficiency and energy management retrofit projects, including development of the largest civilian agency stock of solar photovoltaic systems. These projects are already delivering annual cost savings of approximately $9.4 million and annual energy savings of nearly 340 billion British thermal units (BTUs).

B. AIR AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE PROGRAM

Through performance-based partnerships with commercial air carriers, the Postal Service is balancing its service obligations and conservation goals. These contracts save on energy consumption and cost. The Postal Service operates the nation’s largest alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) fleet with almost 36,000 AFVs, and each year acquires additional vehicles that run on cleaner-burning alternative fuels. The Postal Service requires that 75% of its new light-duty vehicles can operate on alternative fuels — a requirement that for 7 years exceeded standards of the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Policy Act. This year the Postal Service was honored with a White House Closing the Circle Award for its biodiesel utilization program.

C. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

In 2006 the Postal Service began upgrading and streamlining its Environmental Management System (EMS) standard and integrating its activities with the safety organization. EMS is a process for identifying and evaluating environmental and related business issues. The Postal Service now follows the ISO 14001 EMS attributes. The ISO standard has been adopted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and many competitors in the pursuit of environmental and operational excellence.

D. POLLUTION PREVENTION AND RECYCLING

The Postal Service annually purchases more than $200 million worth of products with recycled content and recycles about one million tons of wastepaper, cardboard, plastics, cans, and other material. Many retail and philatelic products contain recycled material, including stamps, stamped envelopes, packaging materials and mail containers. At the end of the year, nearly $9 million in revenue was generated by recycling. The Memphis Purchasing Service Center received a White House Closing the Circle Award honorable mention for its total waste management program.

The Solid and Hazardous Waste Program ensures that potentially hazardous and toxic wastes are handled in a way that safeguards health and the environment and meets legal mandates. The Postal Service is reducing municipal solid waste and industrial waste through its partnership with EPA’s WasteWise Program, which challenges organizations to reduce waste in innovative ways. The Postal Service won the EPA 2006 WasteWise Partner of the Year Award, the program’s highest honor, for the seventh year in a row.