The White House has given the Postal Service a 2009 "closing the circle" award for its national green purchasing program.
The program has received 40 of these awards since it was started in 1995 — 15 were given out in 2009.
According to USPS, the purchasing program evaluates products made of recycled content or renewable resources, eco-label certified, Energy Star and EPEAT registered electronics, water-conserving products and products free of targeted hazardous chemicals as part of its purchasing decisions—along with price, quality and delivery standards.
It said that in fiscal 2008 it spent over $88 million in the acquisition of environmentally preferable products, including remanufactured automobile parts, re-treaded tires, recycled content paper products, custodial products and Cradle to Cradle-certified shipping boxes and envelopes, based on 39 recycling, health and manufacturing criteria.
Sustainability is also an idea at the heart of USPS’s fight for market share with other major carriers such as FedEx and UPS.