The Postal Service is honoring 15 facilities, teams and projects for their efforts to protect the environment and promote sustainability.
The honorees, announced this week, will receive 2017 Postmaster General Sustainability Excellence Awards.
The recipients are:
- Bedford Park, IL, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, where managers have improved training and engagement to ensure employees understand environmental regulations
- Caribbean District, where leaders are building a conservation culture, maintaining regulatory compliance and dealing with climate change, limited resources and supply acquisition challenges
- Eagan, MN, Accounting Service Center, which has introduced a paperless, online payroll system that saves about 140 trees each year
- Erie, PA, Processing and Distribution Center, which boosted employee recycling efforts by 15 percent
- Johnstown, PA, Processing and Distribution Center, which is saving almost $2,000 annually through a recycling program that reduces overflowing trash dumpsters
- Los Angeles Network Distribution Center, which installed a battery shop that is expected to generate $10,500 in annual revenue
- Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center, which installed about 30,000 solar panels to generate electricity, a project that is expected to provide more than $10 million in savings and revenue
- Mail Recovery Center, an Atlanta facility that has generated more than $145,000 in revenue through recycling and an additional $29,000 by selling scrap metal and other materials at government auctions
- National Printing Center, a Topeka, KS, facility that introduced a recycling program that generates about $2,000 in revenue each month
- Northern New Jersey Metro Processing and Distribution Center, which installed more efficient equipment, reducing energy usage by 50 percent
- Northwest Rochester, NY, Processing and Distribution Center, which has improved the recycling of “shoring straps” used to secure mail in vehicles
- Phoenix, AZ, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, which introduced a new method to protect soil and groundwater from oil leaks
- Sacramento, CA, Processing and Distribution Center, which has improved its backhaul recycling efforts, generating more than $353,000 in revenue
- Southfield, MI, Main Post Office, which is expected to save $52,000 annually after switching to LED lighting
- South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center, a Bedford Park, IL, facility that cut costs by $125,000 through a program that allows USPS offices to bring hazardous waste to a central collection point for proper disposal
Each facility will receive an award made from sustainable, Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, while individual employees will receive certificates and commemorative paperweights made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled glass.
The Sustainability Blue page has more information about each honoree.