Postal Service Wins White House Environmental Awards
Five U.S. Postal Service environmental initiatives have been recognized by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, part of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Two initiatives received the prestigious 2008 Closing the Circle Awards and three received honorable mentions. Since the inception of the program in 1996, the Postal Service has won 39 awards.
The Postal Service’s Vendor Partnership for Envelope Reuse initiative won the Closing the Circle Award for “Waste/Pollution Prevention — Civilian.” This program encourages customers, vendors and business partners to reuse and recycle mailing products. The Postal Service partnered with three companies — MailAgain, Abitibi Paper Retriever, and Ecoenvelope — to create reusable envelopes and make recycling easier for our customers.
Winning the Closing the Circle Award for “Environmental Management Systems — Civilian” was the Postal Service’s Environmental Performance Track Initiative. This award recognizes the organization’s increased participation in EPA’s Performance Track Program in its Northeast and Western Areas. The Performance Track Program acknowledges and drives environmental excellence by encouraging facilities with strong environmental records to go above and beyond their legal requirements.