UPS Revamps Envelopes

United Parcel Service has revamped its packaging as a result of an 8-month review by the company and Alliance for Environmental Innovation, a joint initiative of the Environmental Defense Fund and Pew Charitable Trust.

Letter envelopes will contain 80 percent post-consumer fiber, the box will have twice the post-consumer fiber, and the plastic envelope will use post-consumer resin for the first time. UPS will also offer 2-way reusable envelopes. The company plans to stop using bleached paper. UPS already uses recycled paper for its "next day air" and "2nd day air" envelopes, as well as for the 1.2 billion delivery notices it mails each year. It also uses a 100 percent recycled reusable express envelope.

Although the objective was to maintain costs, rather than cut them, the changes will save the company over $1 million annually by cutting energy costs and reducing the amount of material used. UPS will increase the use of post-consumer recycled materials by 22 percent, cut wastewater discharge by more than 15 percent and use 12 percent less energy compared to previous packaging.

Read the full report: http://www.pewedfalliance.org