Environmental Leader

The U.S. Postal Service says it saved more than $2.25 million in the last fiscal year due to greener computing initiatives such as server consolidation and recycling ink cartridges.

Over the past three years, USPS eliminated some 1,600 servers and reduced hardware maintenance costs by $2 million. The postal service has also converted 40 percent of its workstations to power-saving monitors and energy-efficient units. The move has earned it back more than $250,000 from the power companies, according to the USPS.

As part of the Print and Imaging Environment initiative, USPS IT reduced the number of printers used and decreased the number of pages printed by switching the default printer setting to double-sided printing.

The postal service also established a recycling program for ink and toner cartridges. Recycled wastepaper, cardboard, cans, and other materials generated $12 million in the last fiscal year – an increase of more than 40 percent from the previous year.

Last year the USPS launched a year-long energy conservation campaign designed to reduce energy use 30 percent by 2015. It is also aiming to replace 90 percent of its delivery fleet, or 195,000 vehicles, with non-petroleum fueled vehicles.