Committee: Universal Postal Union
Topic: Environmental Impact of Mail
Delegation: Russian Federation
Highland Park High School
Carl Lin and Elias Bull
Mail has been a means of connecting people throughout the world for hundreds of
years. It has allowed people and their ideas to traverse the globe in the form of paper and
writing to faraway places, family and friends. However, in today’s world of technology,
an assortment of innovations, devices, and gadgets are becoming more commonplace. In
the forefront of this age are online chatting and email. They present an almost
instantaneous, expedient way to communicate day-to-day messages. Mail seems to have
been left in the dust or cast away into the technological junkyard, but is actually still
widely used for many purposes. Advertising stands as one of the main purposes. Mail has
become an extremely popular way for companies and other groups to reach a large
audience. Although this kind of mail called direct, or “junk” mail is economically
advantageous to companies, it has also become a source of environmental concern.
Direct mail’s significance stems from the sheer amount that is processed and delivered.
About one third of the world’s mail comes from U.S. direct mail alone (Johnson).
However, to fully understand and quantify the impact of direct mail and mail in general,
countries must look to the life cycle of mail.
According to Pitney Bowes, the environmental impact of mail can be measured
by breaking down the life of mail into six steps: mail design, the manufacturing of
envelopes and paper, the production of the letter, the distribution of the letter, using the
letter, and finally disposing of the letter. Out of these steps, the second and fourth steps
are especially important to consider. The second step, the production of the letter, can be
further broken down into two steps, the harvesting of wood and the actual production of
paper. The first step of obtaining wood has an obvious impact on the environment: the
destruction of forests. Forests are invaluable in maintaining a stable environment. Not
only are they home to thousands of species of animals, but they are also key in preserving
the biodiversity of an area and slowing soil erosion. Forests also take in thirty billion tons
of carbon from the atmosphere annually. Therefore, the preservation of trees and
forestland is essential in minimizing mail’s impact on the environment. Russia believes
this can be accomplished by practicing sustainable forestry practices. Forestland should
be carefully analyzed and forests should only be cut in areas that would have minimal
impact on the surrounding ecosystem. Furthermore, trees that are chopped down should
be replaced with new ones, allowing forests to sequester as much if not more CO2 from
the atmosphere than they are currently. Through effort and cooperation, sustainable
forests are possible to achieve. Seven percent of the world’s forest is now certified as
sustainable. They prevent the destruction of more natural forests while helping meet the
world’s demand for timber. Russia believes that this is a great example of progress
toward sustainable development, and fully supports efforts to promote sustainable
forestry, especially in developing countries.
The effect of paper production on the environment is an area of greater concern.
Almost a fifth of the world’s wood harvest is used to make paper-related products, a third
of which is paper used for writing and printing. The papermaking process also releases
harmful chemicals and requires massive amounts of water. Russia believes that using
recycled paper is important in controlling the environmental impact of this sector. Using
recycled paper reduces energy needs by 44%, reduces solid waste by 49%, and save
100% of the wood needed to make paper (“The Environmental”). In addition, “every ton
of mixed paper that is recycled saves the energy equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline”
(“The Environmental”). The world has taken great strides in recycling, but more can still
be done. Russia advocates raising awareness about recycling and the advancement of
recycling centers in countries throughout the world. However, Russia also believes that it
is important that paper is used more conservatively. Squandering paper leads to the
destruction of forests and more clutter in landfills. Direct mail is a big part of the
problem. Companies send pound upon pound of advertising to millions of households
that don’t respond. This is an unnecessary waste of resources and time. Russia thinks that
the direct mailing system can be improved through more research and studies about
different households. Response rates from different types, sizes, and ethnicities of
families should be recorded and studied to find where direct mail should be sent for
optimal results. The postal service should also permit people to pick the companies or
types of advertising they would like to receive mail from. Russia knows that with
improvements, direct mail can become more efficient, successful, and environmentally
friendly.
The fourth step, the distribution of the letter, deserves the most urgent attention.
This step includes the processing and handling of letters as well as their distribution. The
UPU stated that, “more than 600,000 postal facilities worldwide use electricity, gas and
fuel for heating and air conditioning, and an estimated 250,000 motorcycles and 600,000
cars, vans and trucks, as well as hundreds of aircraft, trains and boats, are mobilized to
transport and distribute close to 440 billion letters and 6 billion parcels every year”
(“Universal”). This step is critical when evaluating the general impact of mail on the
environment. The CO2 emissions from supplying electricity and fuel to postal buildings
and transportation are greater than those from any other steps of the mail’s life cycle
(“The Postal”). Russia is willing to work with other countries in taking steps to make
postal facilities and vehicles more “green”, but also realizes this will be especially
challenging because of the cost of such improvements compared to the potential benefits.
The UPU does not stand alone in its drive for environmental protection. In the
past year the UNEP has agreed to calculate the emissions and environmental impact of
the UPU’s activities, an essential first step toward understanding and addressing the
UPU’s environmental concerns. This partnership between the two organizations is an
invaluable asset in the fight to make the UPU more environmentally friendly. The UNEP
has the expertise and experience to not only provide advice to the UPU, but also come up
with realistic solutions using the data and research it collects (“Working”). Russia knows
the two organizations can work together successfully in devising environmental solutions
for countries throughout the world. Russia believes that through the UNEP and UPU,
more information and general awareness can be raised throughout the world. Ideally, the
means of processing and delivering mail could also be improved. The UNEP and UPU
could encourage more fuel-efficient transportation alternatives and the implementation of
cleaner processing methods. However, Russia recognizes that this will take time and
different countries will have different needs. Russia believes that the actions of the UNEP
and UPU exemplify the path in which the rest of the world must follow if it is to achieve
sustainable development.
Russia holds twenty-two percent of all the world’s forest area and a great
percentage of the world’s natural resources (“The Russian”). Russia recognizes the
importance of environmental sustainability and believes that the mailing sector has a
responsibility to record and reduce its environmental impact. Russia realizes that more
information and research is needed to fully understand the environmental effects of mail,
and believes that it is the responsibility of countries, especially developed countries, to
support the UPU in its goals. The world is losing .2% of its forests annually, however,
many developed countries like the U.S. and U.K. increased their forest coverage. This
can be attributed to many developing countries like South Africa that are using timber
primarily for fuel and clearing forests for agriculture. Therefore, Russia believes that as
developed countries have the resources and experience, they should spearhead the effort
to fight global climate change. This means supporting both developing countries and
efforts around the globe to conserve the environment in sectors like the mailing sector.
Russia is confident that the UPU and postal organizations throughout the world
can become environmentally sustainable. Through new innovations and smarter, greener
practices, Russia believes it is entirely possible for mail, an agelong tradition, to thrive in
the modern world.
Sources
Johnson, Steve. "Junk mail delivers a sense of satisfaction." http://www.chicagotribune.com. September 22,
2009. Chicago Tribune, Web. 3 Oct 2009.
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-johnson-junk-mailsep22,0,3521995.column>.
"The Environmental Impact of Mail:." http://www.pb.com/. Pitney Bowes, Web. 3 Oct 2009.
<http://www.pb.com/bv70/en_US/extranet/landingpages/Environ_Impact_Mail_Web.pdf>.
"The postal sector's impact on climate change." http://www.upu.int/. UPU, Web. 4 Oct 2009.
<http://www.upu.int/climate_change/en/climate_change_impact_postal_sector_en.pdf>.
"THE RUSSIAN FORESTS." http://archive.greenpeace.org/. Greenpeace, Web. 4 Oct 2009.
<http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/cbio/russia.html>.
"Universal Postal Union stresses commitment to climate change action." www.upu.int. UPU, Web. 3 Oct
2009.
<http://www.upu.int/news_centre/2008/en/2008-12-12_climate.html>.
"Working towards a greener postal sector." http://www.upu.int/. 5 May 2008. UPU, Web. 4 Oct 2009.
<http://www.upu.int/press/en/2008/working_towards_a_greener_postal_sector.pdf>.