This episode focuses on the various environmental sustainability initiatives USPS is taking to reduce its carbon footprint and promote a greener future. Jennifer Beiro-Reveille, the Postal Service’s Senior Director of Environmental Affairs and Corporate Sustainability, shares insights and updates on the Postal Service's environmental sustainability journey.
This week on Mailin’ It, we’re joined by Jennifer Beiro-Reveille, the Postal Service’s Senior Director of Environmental Affairs and Corporate Sustainability. She has some encouraging news to share about the organization’s push to transform its operations into a leaner, greener machine. From new battery powered trucks to optimized shipping routes, join us as Jennifer takes us behind the scenes to unveil how USPS is working towards a more sustainable future while helping its business customers tackle their sustainability goals too.
Jonathan Castillo:
Hi everybody. Welcome to Mailin’ it, the official podcast of the United States Postal Service. I'm Jonathan Castillo.
Karla Kirby:
And I'm Karla Kirby. Here on Mailin’ It, we've talked quite a bit about how the Delivering for America Plan is steadily remaking the Postal Service into a more efficient and competitive business. But there's a core component of the 10 year transformation strategy that's probably more important than any other because it affects everyone in the world, and that's sustainability.
Jonathan Castillo:
Joining us for this episode is Jennifer Beiro-Reveille, Senior Director of Environmental Affairs and Corporate Sustainability at the United States Postal Service and one of the driving forces behind its ambitious push for more environmentally sustainable practices. Jennifer, welcome back to Mailin’ it.
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
I'm happy to be back. I will also note that I enjoy listening to all of these podcasts. They're very informative and fun.
Jonathan Castillo:
Yay.
Karla Kirby:
Right, thank you subscribing. So Jennifer, this is the second time you've joined us on the show and I'm really looking forward to hearing what's new with the Postal Services green initiatives since our last episode with you nearly two years ago. But before we get into that, can you give us a little introduction on your background of course, for our listeners?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Sure thing. So I am an architect by training. I worked in the private sector before. I thought maybe I could make a bigger difference at the largest logistics company delivering mail and packages, you know, in the world. So I joined the Postal Service and was an architect engineer with a specialty in building design standards. I went around the country training the architect engineers and you can't have a focus on building design technologies without being very much aware of what environmental assets and components are important to those over 31,000 facilities.
Jonathan Castillo:
I'm assuming during that time you probably found or discovered a lot of opportunities for these facilities to become more sustainable, right?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Absolutely everything from the roofing material to the HVAC, to the lighting as we've recently been leveraging more optimal energy efficient lighting in our newer facilities and in our new network redesign.
Jonathan Castillo:
And is that how you kind of found your way, you know, to transition into what you do now?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Sort of. It was it was a hop, skip and a jump. So I went from facilities to supply management where I was in charge of the contracting for building design and construction services and materials. And then in 2019 I was offered the position of chief sustainability officer. So here I am.
Jonathan Castillo:
You know, I think it's great that we do have someone like yourself who is so passionate about sustainability and environmental performance improvements, just to be in a position, you know, where you can actually drive meaningful change, especially as you mentioned, for an organization as large as the Postal Service.
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
That's correct. As stewards of the largest mailing operation in the world, as I said earlier, and one of the country's biggest organizations, we deeply appreciate the impact we have on those communities that we serve six and often seven days a week. For this reason, we focus on finding new ways to reduce our environmental footprint. We do it for us, we do it for the communities we serve. We know that the environmental benefits of our transformation will increase as we move forward with the Delivering for America Plan. Our new network of processing and distribution facilities will concentrate our operations and optimize our transportation systems to make a really incredible and notable impact on our carbon footprint. Every improvement to our operations from new facilities to improve transportation utilization and delivery route refinements helps us to reduce our carbon footprint.
Karla Kirby:
So the last time we talked sustainability with you, we ran through some of the ambitious targets that you're working on to hit by 2030 as part of the Delivering for America Plan. What's new since then?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
A lot
Jonathan Castillo:
There's so much to cover here. So, you know, why don't we go through the three focus areas one at a time. We have climate action, circular economy, and environmental awareness. Correct?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Correct.
Jonathan Castillo:
Excellent. Let's start with climate action. What are some of the highlights?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
The highlights for our work on climate action is a derivative of DFA, our Delivering for America plan and our focus on operational efficiency. We have fuller trucks that equates to fewer trips. We are optimizing our routes and in doing so, we have more full trucks as opposed to three partially loaded trucks tooling around the communities that we serve. And in addition, we're working on our new fleet rollout, which by definition is focused on reduced and zero emission vehicles. And as I mentioned earlier, all of these targets are derived from the creation of the environmental council and that council. We had monthly meetings, sometimes weekly meetings with the Postmaster General and the Environmental council in those meetings was our chief data and analytics officer and his team. And they are helping us and all of the leadership team on the council quantify their opportunities and work to tracking those opportunities as they manifest in the subsequent emission reductions.
Karla Kirby:
So when we talk about the, the different reports that are available around our sustainability, are these reports and analytics available to our customers? Can they track how we're reducing our footprint?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Absolutely. We have our annual sustainability report, which will annually be tracking our goals and our progress to those goals and where we have made the necessary traction. In addition to that, we have many customers that are a part of our Blue Earth carbon suite of services. We know that protecting the environment is a commitment many businesses and consumer share. That's why we developed our USPS Blue Earth Suite of services. These services help our customers measure and manage their carbon impact while reducing waste and increasing recycling. Primarily our suite of USPS Blue Earth services includes a no fee carbon accounting program for mailers and shippers, a federal recycling program for small electronics and a no fee, secure destruction program that securely disposes of business sensitive materials through our National Recycling program.
Jonathan Castillo:
Now, besides optimizing shipping routes, can you share some of the other things the Postal Service is doing to reduce its environmental impact under Delivering for America?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
In addition to moving more mailing packages from heavy air transportation to the over the road transportation and optimizing our routes, we have a plant to procure zero emission and reduced emission vehicles. Our strategy is great, it's to acquire and deploy over 66,000 battery electric vehicles or BEV’s by 2028.
Karla Kirby:
So it definitely sounds like we're on the right track, but when we talk about the vehicles, it's my understanding that we're gonna have the largest electric logistics fleet in the government. Is that correct?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
That's correct. And we've already got a great start on it. For example, we have recently deployed 50 of the Ford eTransits and we plan to complete that rollout by May of 2025. And then we have our next generation delivery vehicles, those battery electric vehicles, and we're gonna continue to work through the rollout of those. This year we had our first article inspection and we're looking forward to seeing those on the streets as I think our customers are too.
Jonathan Castillo:
There are some things that are happening in our facilities as well. Correct?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
There is absolutely an opportunity to reduce the emissions of our facilities and one of our key focus areas is solar arrays. This is nothing new to the Postal Service. We started putting solar panels on our mail processing and distribution centers many years ago. So in addition to the solar in these buildings, we are installing very energy efficient lighting. For example, our sorting and delivery centers, there was an opening at the Atlanta Sorting and Delivery Center, and I, you know, I've seen a lot of these buildings. I was impressed with the quality of the lighting and then knowing that the emissions from that lighting was a reduction while being optimal for those carriers and everybody else working in those facilities.
Karla Kirby:
So it definitely sounds like we're on the right path to hitting all of those targets. So the next component is the circular economy. Is that just recycling or is there more to that?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
There is a little bit more to that, but recycling is very near and dear to my heart. Through our circular economy focus, we prioritize source reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials, as you mentioned, and making sure that we are keeping these in circulation to minimize waste and the demand for natural resources. So we have three areas under circular economy, as you mentioned, we are focused on diverting waste from landfills by increasing our recycling rate. And that goal there is to divert 75% of our waste from landfills. In addition to this, and as a key part of sustainable acquisition, we are increasing packaging, recycled content, and the subsequent recyclability of that packaging and the targets there are, are to increase packaging recycled content to 74%. And this is different. And, and, and it's a good clarification, we want to increase the packaging recyclability to 88%. And then finally we're gonna purchase onsite renewable energy and renewable energy certificates with our target there being to increase renewable energy to 10%.
Karla Kirby:
So Jennifer, when you say making packages more recyclable, is that not just making sure I put it in the proper bin? Can you explain that to our listeners? Well, to me, really!
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
So it's a great question. So our target there is to increase packaging recycled content and recyclability. So knowing whether that box that you have or that package that you have can go in that green bin is key. So knowledge is power and it helps divert waste from landfill. So in 2019, when I first got this position, I actually got a call from a waste management municipality asking me about the recyclability of one of our packages. And it really got me thinking, and it was after that conversation that I signed an agreement with How2Recycle. This How2Recycle partnership, they use a standardized labeling system to clearly communicate disposal instructions to the public. So since we started this partnership several years ago, the program's visibility has improved as we replace depleted inventory with new stock, incorporating that how to recycle label that will tell you to flatten it like a box and recycle it.
That might tell you if it's not recyclable, the label will have a slash through it indicating that it's not recyclable. We've also expanded the program beyond our priority mail and priority mail express and ready post packaging to include how to recycle guidance on postcards, posters, and certain printed paper products. So I'm very happy to say that our annual sustainability report, for example, if anybody chooses to print it out, it will tell you how it can be recycled. And we have that for many of our packages and the postcards that are delivered and a lot of our publications.
Jonathan Castillo:
That is really cool. So where can our customers find this more recyclable packaging that you mentioned?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Good question, Jonathan. They can go right to their neighborhood post office. Those post offices have much of our packaging, including our priority mail and priority mail express. And in addition to going to your local post office, they can get right in front of their computer and order our packaging online. Very convenient and affordable and sustainable at usps.com,
Jonathan Castillo:
Reducing environmental impact, reuse, recycling. These are all pretty straightforward. Right? But what about the awareness component of the sustainability plan? What exactly does that entail?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
We know that we can't ensure the success of operationalizing our many sustainability focused goals without environmental awareness like this podcast. Thank you both. So our focus there is to grow environmental awareness with our more than 650,000 employees and our internal and external stakeholders. And we do that with communication, with a primary focus of working with our communications partners like you on providing regular and effective environmental awareness communication to our employees, our communities, and of course our federal, state and local entities to reinforce our positive brand recognition while ensuring that we're telling our story. In addition, under the environmental awareness target, we work towards ensuring environmental policy requirements. We've got, especially in the environmental area, we have required regulations that we are held accountable to with a lot of the regulators out there. Thank you EPA for keeping us clean. So we have a lot of communications that are going out to the field and subsequently those requirements are being incorporated into our operations. And finally, we can’t do any of this without training. We are working towards providing that training both onsite and online with tools that align with the policy, the regulatory requirements with our focus of, you know, getting a hundred percent compliance with respect to where that's a applicable.
Karla Kirby:
So it sounds like you have a lot of the team on board, both, both internally and externally. Has that been a difficult effort?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
No, no. I, I would have to say we are getting the biggest lift from the top. The primary benefit of this strategy is that our postmaster general and CEO is directing this change from the very top. That in addition to the leadership of the Environmental Council, has elevated the emphasis on sustainability and we are rowing together to achieve our goals. We know that it's not just the right thing to do. We know that it's good for business and it's good for our customers. It's also going to be good for our very important bottom line. I have to say it's an exciting time to be an environmentalist anywhere, but it's amazing to use the strength of this organization to make a difference as we work to reduce our emissions collectively for us and for the communities that we serve.
Jonathan Castillo:
Jennifer, thank you so much for joining us today. It was a delight speaking with you and you know, really learning about the Postal Services environmental performance and improvements and how they align really with the nation's current sustainability initiatives.
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Thank you for having me.
Karla Kirby:
So Jennifer, definitely thank you for joining us again and for our listeners, where can they see our statistics on sustainability and our progress with our Delivering for America 10 year plan?
Jennifer Beiro-Reveille:
Excellent, excellent question Karla. So usps.com/green and you will see all of our environmental goals, our targets, and our strategies.
Jonathan Castillo:
Thank you so much, Jennifer.
Karla Kirby:
Thank you again.
Jonathan. It's time for another Did You Know segment where we talk about interesting Postal Service facts that most people probably don't know? Why don't you go ahead and get us started this time?
Jonathan Castillo:
Sure. So when Americans armed forces veterans begin the transition out of military service, they can sometimes have a bit of a tough time adjusting to life out of uniform. But for many, there's another uniform waiting for them if they want it.
Karla Kirby:
Let me guess, you're talking about the Postal Service uniform.
Jonathan Castillo:
That's right. The United States Postal Service has a long history of making career opportunities available to veterans and reservists as well as their family members. In fact, there are almost 63,000 military veterans working among the USPS ranks today.
Karla Kirby:
That makes sense. There are a lot of cultural similarities, right? Both have a real focus on character traits like reliability, loyalty, and integrity.
Jonathan Castillo:
For sure. And because of that, the Postal Service gives preference in hiring to military veterans, especially those who've sustained disabilities as a result of their military service.
Karla Kirby:
That's really great that the Postal Service looks out for our veterans.
Jonathan Castillo:
It is, and there's more. With a military buyback program, in many cases, veterans time in the armed forces can be treated as prior employment. That means their military service time can actually count toward their Postal Service pensions and as credit toward the number of years they have to work before they're eligible to retire.
Karla Kirby:
Well, Jonathan, that sounds like a pretty good deal. I can see why so many veterans have made the change from camo to blue. Let's stick with the military theme because I have a few facts up my sleeve too. Did you know that more than 140 stamps have been issued with the theme of US military history?
Jonathan Castillo:
I knew there were a lot, but I wouldn't have guessed that many.
Karla Kirby:
Exactly. In fact, the very first stamp ever issued featured a military veteran, a certain revolutionary war hero by the name of George Washington. Over the years, countless stamps have been released commemorating battles, leaders, aircraft, and even military working dogs. There have also been two different 50th anniversary stamps for the Air Force issued 40 years apart.
Jonathan Castillo:
Wait, what?
Karla Kirby:
Well, the United States Air Force wasn't formally established as its own military branch until 1947. For the 40 years before that, it was part of the US Army beginning with its formation in 1907 as the aeronautical division of the Army Signal Corps. So the first golden anniversary set from 1957 marks the first milestone and the one from 1997 honors the establishment of the service branch.
Jonathan Castillo:
Very cool. I love learning stamp facts like this.
Karla Kirby:
And that wraps up this segment of Did You Know.
So Jonathan, what a great episode. So sustainability is something that I am very interested in and I think Jennifer shared some great information she gave our customers where they could find our statistics about how the Postal Service is moving to reduce their footprint. What thoughts did you have from today's episode?
Jonathan Castillo:
You know, I think it's just so exciting to witness the Postal Services transformation under the Delivering for America plan, both now and in the years to come to really become a leader in the reduction of our greenhouse gas footprint, while at the same time helping American businesses achieve their sustainability goals. That's a win-win. It's a great result for the nation and a great result for our postal customers.
Karla Kirby:
I agree, I definitely agree with that. And that wraps up this episode of Mailin’ It.
Jonathan Castillo:
Don't forget to subscribe to Mailin’ it wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss the next episode and follow along on Instagram @USPostal Service, X @USPS and on Facebook.