Green roof, IT help cut Postal Service energy costs by $400m

Almost exactly two years after it finished installing one of the largest green roofs in the country, the US Postal Service (USPS) says it’s reduced its energy costs by more than $400 million since 2007.

In addition to using green roof technology, energy audits and employee conservation, the USPS implemented three IT programs aimed at measuring and managing its power consumption.

“Our energy savings are identified, measured and managed using the Postal Service’s Utility Management System, Enterprise Energy Management System and Corporate Energy Interface … ,” said Thomas Day, the service’s chief sustainability officer. “These systems help the Postal Service measure, monitor and manage energy use, improving our ability to take advantage of future cost-saving opportunities.”

Other software strategies that have helped cut energy use include:

• Web-based software that optimizes sorting programs to reduce the number of partially filled mail trays and enables more mail to be delivered in fewer trips;
• An “Intelligent Mail” barcode and IT system to improve high-volume mail routing and tracking;
• A requirement that suppliers with contracts of over $500,000 provide the USPS with sustainability data by 2015.

The Postal Service’s nearly 2.5-acre green roof on its processing and distribution facility in New York is the city’s largest.

The USPS aims to cut facility energy use by 30 percent by 2015, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.