The White House has announced the recipients of the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards. The Postal Service was among the honorees.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy accepted the award for electrifying the largest federal fleet during a June 25 ceremony.
“We are honored to receive this award as our team has built a great relationship with members of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Clean Energy and Innovation and Implementation, to build one of the world’s largest electric delivery vehicle fleets. Our work together demonstrates electrification and sustainability efforts can coexist — not conflict — with cost savings, efficiency gains and operational transformation priorities,” DeJoy said.
The Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards recognize agencies and employees who have made transformational efforts to advance sustainability and climate resilience within their organization.
These actions are supporting the growth of America’s clean manufacturing and clean energy industries and jobs, saving taxpayer dollars through reduced energy costs, and creating healthier communities.
“Our federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer, building and vehicle owner, and purchaser of goods and services, and the Biden-Harris administration remains committed to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars while delivering on the most ambitious climate and clean energy agenda in history,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
“The Presidential Federal Sustainability Award winners represent the very best of our federal workforce and agencies who have tackled complex challenges and delivered results for a cleaner, more efficient federal government.”
In his first year in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing the federal government to lead by example and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, including a 65 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, a goal laid out in the 2021 Federal Sustainability Plan.
Under this plan, federal agencies are increasing the efficiency of 300,000 federal buildings, transitioning the federal fleet of 600,000 vehicles to zero-emission, and moving to power all federal operations with 100 percent carbon-free electricity.
Awardees were selected from a pool of more than 140 nominations and represent domestic and international facilities or projects spanning 10 federal agencies.
The Postal Service was honored for its plans to build one of the world’s largest electric delivery vehicle fleets, which will result in cleaner air, better health and good-paying jobs in communities across the country.
In December 2022, USPS announced its commitment to putting 66,000 electric delivery trucks on the road over the next five years and stated that its next-generation delivery vehicle fleet purchases will be all electric starting in 2026. This represents one of the largest commitments to vehicle electrification in the nation.
With this announcement, USPS is voluntarily exceeding the federal fleet electrification requirements in Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan.
To power these vehicles, as part of its delivery network transformation, USPS is installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the nation, with 14,000 charging ports expected to be put in place over the next few years.
Charging port installations will continue at least through 2028 at hundreds of facilities to support these vehicle purchases.
Through its actions, the administration said USPS is setting an example for the federal government in advancing Biden’s charge to electrify the government’s 600,000 vehicles.
The Sustainability.gov website has more information about the award.
