Given that mail is used by virtually all environmental, consumer and nonprofit groups, it should be fairly obvious that mail has a minimal environmental impact. That said, no product or service is without impact, so it makes sense to ask two questions: How does mail relate to green concerns and how can the environmental impact of mail be reduced?

Pitney Bowes has now comes out with an interesting discussion of such issues. Entitled The Environmental Impact of Mail: A Baseline, the 30-page report looks at such matters as CO2 emissions, carbon footprints, forest acreage, landfill use and related topics.

One item that struck me as interesting was CO2 generation. The U.S. annually produces 20.1 tons of C02 per person. How much of that is from the production and distribution of mail?

To get the answer we first need to convert tons into grams: For instance, according to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility there are 909,091 grams of lead in a one ton, so 20.1 tons would equal 18,272,729.1 grams.

We can then look at mail. As the Pitney Bowes study explains:

“The USPS delivers about 515 letters per capita per year. Using a general estimate of 25 grams of CO2 per letter generated within the postal value chain and the worst case scenario of 50 grams of CO2 per letter, the distribution of these letters generates 13 – 26 kg of CO2 per capita.”

Let’s see, in one kilogram there are 1,000 grams, so 13 to 26 kilograms would equal 13,000 to 26,000 kilograms.

The sum of 26,000 goes into 18,272,729.1 a total of 702.797 times.

Seen the other way, 26,000 equals 0.001422 of 18,272,729.1.

The idea of the Pitney Bowes study is not that mail is without environmental impact, but rather that mail has a minimal green cost; efforts should be made to reduce such impact as mail has even further; and that all products and services — including email — have an environmental cost.

No less important, environmental costs must be balanced against the benefits produced by a given product or service.

No product or service has a zero impact and mail represents some 8,300,000 jobs nationwide. Given the minimal environmental cost of mail does it make sense to lose jobs in every neighborhood and community and to close local post offices in the quest for environmental perfection — something which can never be achieved?

Responsible environmental groups all have the same answer: They mail.

A copy of the study is available by pressing here.

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But debate is healthy. It’s a sign of activity rather than stagnation, a chance to test ideas, and an opportunity to build consensus.

Through debate and discussion we’ve come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the net volume of trees set aside for growing stock increased from 516 billion cubic feet in 1953 to more than 925 billion cubic feet in 2007.

The crusade to reduce, re-use, and recycle has been accepted nationwide. Small, inefficient landfills are being replaced by larger and safer facilities. In fact, many states now have fewer landfills — but more landfill capacity. Paper, envelopes, and catalogs that use recycled fibers, water-activated adhesives, and soy-based inks are increasingly common. Significant efforts have been made to clean the air and water, and the results can be seen in every state.

There is surely more to do, but as we celebrate Earth Day each year, let us all consider that while environmental purity and absolutism produce headlines, discussion and common sense produce results.

Mail. The Medium that Delivers.

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Technorati Tags: Ecology, environment, environmental, green, mail