Investment Trends in Sustainable Postal Processing Operations
- Investing in sustainable practices can help postal and logistics operators comply with government regulation. It can also appeal to new customers committed to reducing supply chain emissions, and it can reduce operational costs overtime.
- Across the industry, operators are pursuing sustainable practices in processing operations by generating renewable energy, providing support for green transportation, procuring energy-efficient processing equipment, practicing sustainable land use, and reducing, reusing, and recycling material.
- The Postal Service is pursuing initiatives, such as a vehicle electrification strategy and a new Environmental Council, to promote sustainability across its operations, including its processing network.
As governments and consumers worldwide are increasingly committed to sustainability in supply chains, postal operators have started investing in greener infrastructure to reduce emissions across their processing operations. In this Research Insights report, the OIG examined postal and logistics industry trends in promoting sustainability when investing in processing operations.
Investing in sustainable processing operations helps operators comply with government policies, reduce costs over time, and appeal to potential customers focused on sustainability, potentially providing a competitive advantage. Many postal and logistics operators have set goals for net zero carbon emissions, and some operators like La Poste and Canada Post have already achieved last-mile delivery zero emissions.
To promote sustainability, postal and logistics operators indicated they are investing in generating renewable energy and providing support for green transportation like electric vehicles. Operators also reported efforts to procure energy-efficient processing equipment and practice sustainable land use, which can involve selecting less environmentally disruptive sites for facilities. Lastly, reducing, reusing, and recycling materials involved in processing operations is a key industry practice.
The Postal Service’s ten-year Delivering for America plan indicated sustainability is a core commitment and called for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy, fuel, and waste. USPS is pursuing initiatives, such as a vehicle electrification strategy and a new Environmental Council, to promote sustainability across its operations, including its processing network. The Postal Service also has initiatives to divert waste from landfills, install solar panels, and secure renewable energy from suppliers.
Kevin Mersol-Barg, Aaron Anfinson, Abigail Paterson, William Kimball, and Paola Piscioneri contributed to this report.
