USPS delivers supply chain accountability

The United States Postal Service (USPS) offers services to help customers and United States agencies conduct operations in a more effective manner while contributing to their sustainability goals. As a large nationwide delivery service, USPS recognised it could provide innovative services to help its customers manage and reduce carbon emissions across their supply chains. To achieve this, the Postal Service offers its business customers the BlueEarth® Carbon Accounting Service.

This service provides business customers with an electronic report for their Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their mail and packages sent through the Postal Service. This proprietary innovation follows the most widely accepted greenhouse gas accounting methods to calculate a shipping or mailing item’s GHG emissions based on its characteristics, such as product type, size, weight, processing, distribution and transportation.

This “no fee” service provides business customers with monthly, quarterly and annual reports. Carbonfund.org Foundation, the USA’s leading carbon reduction and offset organisation, has reviewed the methodology used for the USPS BlueEarth® Carbon Accounting Statement and determined it is consistent with the carbon neutrality criteria for eligibility in the Carbonfund.org Carbonfree Shipping programme. USPS business customers interested in offsetting emissions created by mailing or shipping can purchase carbon credits using official calculation results from the USPS BlueEarth® Carbon Accounting Statement.