USPS

The United States Postal Service

“Blue” and “Brown” Make “Green”!

Blue and Brown Make Green How the USPS - UPS partnership achieved reduction of costs and carbon footprint, as well as improved customer service.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) and United Parcel Service (UPS) are helping each other to achieve operational and sustainability goals, reduce costs and the carbon footprint of their networks to benefit their respective customers. These synergies in the ‘Blue-Brown Partnership’ will allow the delivery of certain services more efficiently than either of them could do on their own, lowering costs for customers.

UPS provides air and ground transportation and international service for USPS, while USPS provides last-mile delivery, known as Parcel Select™, for certain UPS customers. USPS visits every address in America — 151m residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. This is better known as the last-mile network, where the Postal Service delivers to residences on behalf of other carriers.

UPS works with the Postal Service’s last-mile network in order to expand its reach without having to use its own delivery vehicles, reducing its Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The collaborative process reduces delivery times, costs and the carbon footprint of both operators, but also saves their customers’ money and provides new products and additional conveniences.

In 2010 the Postal Service and UPS completed a successful pilot programme that allows UPS customers to return retail merchandise using USPS mailboxes and Post Offices. UPS drivers pick up the specially labelled packages at Post Offices and transport them back to the retailer.

Collaborative efforts such as these significantly increase business-to-customer and businessto- business product recycling programmes. This collaboration across supply chains is the start of a sustainable future.