The Biden-Harris administration has honored the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) with the Presidential Federal Sustainability Award for its efforts in advancing sustainability and climate resilience. This recognition highlights USPS’s initiatives to cut energy costs, reduce emissions, and support economic growth.
Key Highlights:
- Award for Electrifying the Largest Federal Fleet
- Efforts in building one of the world’s largest electric delivery vehicle fleets
- Commitment to sustainability and operational efficiency
The White House has announced the recipients of the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards, with USPS among the honorees. Accepting the award for “Electrifying the Largest Federal Fleet,” Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy stated, “We are honored to receive this award as our team has built a great relationship with members of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Clean Energy and Innovation and Implementation, to build one of the world’s largest electric delivery vehicle fleets. Our work together demonstrates electrification and sustainability efforts can coexist — not conflict — with cost savings, efficiency gains, and operational transformation priorities.”
The Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards recognize federal agencies and employees who have made transformational efforts to advance sustainability and climate resilience within their organizations. These actions support the growth of America’s clean manufacturing and clean energy industries, save taxpayer dollars through reduced energy costs, and create healthier communities.
Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, remarked, “Our federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer, building and vehicle owner, and purchaser of goods and services, and the Biden-Harris administration remains committed to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars while delivering on the most ambitious climate and clean energy agenda in history. The Presidential Federal Sustainability Award winners represent the very best of our federal workforce and agencies who have tackled complex challenges and delivered results for a cleaner, more efficient federal government.”
See also: USPS to Deploy Over 66,000 Electric Vehicles by 2028
In his first year, President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing the federal government to lead by example and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, including a 65 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, a goal outlined in the 2021 Federal Sustainability Plan. Under this plan, federal agencies are increasing the efficiency of 300,000 federal buildings, transitioning the federal fleet of 600,000 vehicles to zero-emission, and moving to power all federal operations with 100 percent carbon-free electricity.
Awardees were selected from over 140 nominees, representing domestic and international facilities or projects across 10 federal agencies.
Electrifying the Largest Federal Fleet
The Postal Service was honored for leading by example by building one of the world’s largest electric delivery vehicle fleets, helping to advance President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan’s goals. This initiative results in cleaner air, better health, and good-paying jobs in communities across the country. In December 2022, USPS announced its commitment to deploy 66,000 electric delivery trucks over the next five years, with the expectation that all new purchases of its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle fleet will be electric starting in 2026. This represents one of the largest commitments to vehicle electrification in the nation. With this announcement, USPS is voluntarily exceeding the federal fleet electrification requirements in President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan.
To support these vehicles, USPS is expeditiously installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the nation, with 14,000 charging ports in progress to be installed over the next few years. Charging port installations will continue at least through 2028 at hundreds of facilities to support these vehicle purchases. Through its actions, USPS is setting an example for the federal government in advancing President Biden’s charge to electrify the U.S. Government’s 600,000 vehicles.
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