Information Resource Ready for Earth Day

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its green newsroom, a one-stop shop for all its environmental information. Replete with photos of its energy-saving vehicles and facilities, green products and services, and a time-lapse video of the construction of New York’s largest green roof, the Postal Service’s green newsroom is its newest, most informative site to visit on Earth Day.

“At the Postal Service’s green newsroom, every day is Earth Day,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “Our history of environmental efforts goes back more than 100 years and Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to tell Americans about the Postal Service’s planet-friendly initiatives.”

According to Pulcrano, the USPS green newsroom is a robust source of sustainability news and answers key green questions including:

• How big is the Postal Service’s carbon footprint?
• How is the Postal Service decreasing its carbon emissions?
• How many hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs has the Postal Service saved since 2007?
• How many hundreds of thousands of tons of waste did the Postal Service recycle in 2008? (Hint – enough to fill America’s tallest building.)
• How are expired or unwanted pharmaceuticals safely discarded with the Postal Service’s help without harming the environment?

Visitors to the green newsroom can learn about the Postal Service’s first test of electric vehicles in 1899, when it found that mail could be delivered in less than half the time taken by horse-drawn wagons. They also can find out how many billions of miles were traveled last year to deliver America’s mail, and how many millions of gallons of alternative fuel were purchased by the Postal Service in 2009.

Viewers of the site can expand their green knowledge and Earth Day conversation with interesting facts including: how many tens of thousands of alternative fuel-capable vehicles are in the Postal Service’s fleet; where the Postal Service uses mules to deliver mail; and which mail delivery vehicle has zero emissions, and costs only 2 cents per mile to operate.

“We hope America visits the new green newsroom, and usps.com/green, to learn more about the Postal Service’s commitment to the environment,” Pulcrano said.

The Postal Service has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle,

10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year, 2009.