Customers Keener for Mail with Greener Demeanor

Fairfield County Postal Customers, Connecticut Business and Industry Association Offer Seminar on Greening the Mail

Fairfield (CT) — Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future. As Americans seek companies that operate in an environmentally responsible manner, the direct mail industry and its partners — including the Postal Service, printers and the paper industry — are sharpening their focus on environmental issues.

In a first-of-its-kind seminar for this region, the Fairfield County Connecticut Postal Customer Council joins the Connecticut Business and Industry Association to host a workshop — Green Means Grow – that explores the greening of the mailing industry with speakers and vendor exhibits.  

WHEN:  Thursday, April 17th from 8 am until 11:30 am

WHERE:  Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue,  Fairfield CT 06825

WHO IS ON THE PROGRAM: 

• Mary Weber, Business Development Analyst, US Postal Service, Headquarters

In a preview of the Extreme Green program being showcased at the National Postal Forum this May, Ms. Weber will discuss environmental innovations and achievements by the Postal Service that include:

Cradle to Cradle Certification  

The Postal Service is the only mailing or shipping company in the nation to achieve Cradle to Cradle Certification, which reviews the environmental attributes of materials used in its products. Materials were examined for toxicity, renewable energy, water stewardship, recyclability and other manufacturing attributes. Cradle to Cradle-certified envelopes, packages and mailing supplies are available in Post Offices across the country and online. 

Postal Service mailing and shipping supplies exceed government requirements, including recycled content standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Product Takeback Initiatives

Through partnerships with business and government, mail is being used to properly dispose of products that might otherwise be harmful to the environment including computer equipment, printer supplies, cell phones, rechargeable batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and prescription drugs.

Greening the Mail Task Force
In 2007 the Postal Service reinstated its Greening of the Mail Task which includes mailers, industry groups, suppliers, regulators (Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of the Federal Environmental Executive) and the National Recycling Coalition. The task force will drive a multi-year effort to improve mailpiece design, improve address and list quality, expand recycling and waste-disposal practices related to mail, and improve communication on the impacts of mail on the economy and society.

Supporting the Greening of the Mail Task Force is a model, prototyped by the Postal Service in 2007 that covers the entire “life-cycle” of the mail from production through disposal.   The model identifies the most significant environmental impacts in the process.

• Serenity Edwards,  Director of Corporate Responsibility, Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Washington Office:

"The Green 15 Toolkit"
The direct marketing community needs to embrace sustainability as business concept and objective, and work towards a future that is both practical and eco-friendly. The DMA's Green 15 manual provides organizations with the building blocks to do just that.

• In addition to vendor exhibits featuring green technology and products related to the mailing industry, there will be a live internet demonstration of the Postal Service’s Green Page

If you want to attend:

• Admission is $15
• Reservations may be made by contacting Kathy Perez at 203-332-5341 or via email at kathy.m.perez@usps.gov
• Credit card payments are accepted. If paying by check make payable to FCCPCC in care of  K. Perez, US Postal Service,  120 Middle St.,  Bridgeport CT 06602-9998

POSTAL SERVICE AND THE ENVIRONMENT — BACKGROUND:

• Each year the Postal Service recycles one million tons of paper, plastic, and other material, resulting in millions of dollars in revenue and cost avoidance. In 2007, $7.5 million was generated through recycling and waste prevention.
• The Postal Service also purchases more than $200 million in products with recycled content, including envelopes, packaging, and mail containers. New water-based inks used to print stamps are made from soybeans and contain no heavy metals. Stamps are produced with gum-free pressure sensitive adhesive to ease recycling. And, by switching to linerless labels on stamp coils, 700 tons of scrap paper were eliminated.
• Supporting the use of recycled paper, and encouraging the recycling of waste paper have been postal strategies for almost two decades. The Postal Service‘s effort now encompasses the full lifecycle of mail, and it works with industry partners such as the Direct Marketing Association to continue to increase the amount of recycled paper and other materials that are used to produce mail and packaging.
• The Postal Service has been honored with 37 White House Closing the Circle Awards. The Postal Service also won the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 WasteWise Partner of the Year Award, the program’s highest honor, for the eighth year in a row.
• The Postal Service’s Connecticut District serves more than 3.5 postal customers over more than 5,000 square miles through 218 post offices and an additional 80 stations and branches. The District includes all the Post Offices in Fairfield County, CT.