Additional data is needed to pinpoint mail's true environmental impact, but it's in the range of 50 grams of C02 per piece, according to the first study ever on the issue. The new research demonstrates that leisure and other everyday activities - watching television, taking a trip, or running a clothes dryer, dishwasher, or refrigerator - account for most of a consumers' total carbon footprint.
This new study on mail is published at a time when all industries are under intense pressure to take more action on climate change and lessen their environmental impact. The individual impact of mail on the environment has been inflated by misguided environmentalist groups and proponents of a Do Not Mail registry, which aims to dismantle how and which types of mail are delivered to consumer's doorsteps.There are two areas within the post's C02 emissions that are crucial to measuring and understanding their carbon footprints: facility resources, and transportation resources.Overall, the mailing industry has adopted many initiatives to reduce mail's carbon footprint, but must expand and collaborate on environmentally responsible efforts to further reduce the environmental impact associated with all six life cycle stages of letter mail. Some key steps to follow for the mailing industry in this area include:In the study, initial estimates of C02 per mail piece are used to compare mail with everyday household activities. How does mail stack up? Consider this: running a single refrigerator for a year is equivalent to the creation and delivery of 5,000 letters; taking a two-minute shower is equivalent to receiving 40 letters; running an electric water heater for a year is about the same as 20,000 letters received; and the list goes on.There are some laugh-out-loud moments as readers see their own families reflected in ordinary life transitions such as teens learning how to drive. Gruen remarks on the irony that the same kids who "can't even remember to close a refrigerator door when they leave the kitchen" shoulder the enormous responsibility "of navigating our 3,000 pound minivan down city streets."The ramifications of this registry - which would eliminate approximately 8.4 million jobs nationwide and halt the $1 trillion economic activity of the mailing and printing industry - have not been considered. This new research by Pitney Bowes enables individuals, companies, and industry associations to have a public dialogue based on fact, rather than perception. It contributes to a centralized and standardized set of data that is necessary to calculate mail's environmental impact.As Gruen points out, women need to take care of themselves, before they come to a certain point---as she did when her friends called, inviting her to go with them to a club: "Sam's Club or Wal-Mart?" she inquired.Some other features that a fisher price healthy care high chair includes are a five-point restraint, a durable steel frame, convenient towel bar, and a footrest. When storing the high chair away the tray just snaps onto the back legs. You can keep your high chair for years, and it will then become an antique.251 pages, Softcover $14.95HumorThe Environmental Impact of Mail: A Baseline, published by Pitney Bowes, is a comprehensive review of existing or published data on the value chain of mail from a variety of sources including regulatory agencies, not-for-profits, and U.S. and international postal services. Using these sources, it establishes a baseline of mail's environmental impact, compares it with the C02 output of everyday human activities, and recommends a set of key "next steps" for the mailing industry to be even more environmentally responsible.In addition, the Direct Marketing Association is leading an industry-wide initiative, the "Green 15," which mandates 15 baseline business practices in five areas of the life cycle of mail to improve mailers' environmental performance. The DMA's Commitment to the Consumer Choice program also offers a Mail Preference Service through which consumers can select or stop (opt in or out) receiving promotional prospecting mail at home. This service provides consumers with an effective way to receive more of the mail that really matters to them, and less of the mail they do not want, reducing the creation of waste mail.The mailing industry is also pursuing many initiatives to further reduce the carbon footprint associated with the production and delivery of mail. Among the activities currently being undertaken are using more environmentally responsible mailing materials, better address quality efforts that will reduce Undeliverable-As-Addressed mail, increased recycling, and energy and fuel conservation initiatives for buildings and vehicles.That is the kind of witty observation Gruen makes in her newest book, and one that millions of baby boomer parents, especially moms, will certainly identity with. Gruen is the creator and host of the blog Off My Noodle in which she riffs on parenthood, friendship, family life, and being a woman in the new millennium. This book is a compilation of nearly sixty of her favorite columns.In 2005, 36 percent of direct mail in the United States was recycled, increasing by about 8 percent in 2006 to 39 percent. The recycling of mail not only reduces landfill waste, but also potentially reduces energy requirements and emissions at paper mills. Increasing the percentage of recycled direct mail and reducing the amount of waste mail created are important considerations for the mailing industry.Creative Minds PressFor example, the whole family goes camping and Mom suggests singing around the campfire. Suddenly, it's just Gruen and her husband. "The kids had vanished, but I spied one hiding behind a nearby tree. I had warned him that he would one day regret choosing fire engine red sneakers, but of course he didn't listen," she writes.The Environmental Impact of Mail: A Baseline, is a starting point for further research. It will be continuously updated and refined as the mailing industry continues its progress in the area of environmental responsibility.Reviewer: Robin Farrell EdmundsA graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Gruen is the author of two previous books; both humorous looks at timely topics: Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Motherhood as Shuttle Diplomacy and Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout.
Paul Robbertz is the vice president of Environment Health and Safety for Pitney Bowes Inc.
Author: Robbertz, Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment