While they find that many of the elements necessary for effective collaborative ventures are critical — such as a clear purpose, dedicated staff, and the willingness to be flexible — they conclude that a bilateral collaborative venture is often more effective when it has a formal legal structures in place that enhance its legitimacy in the eyes of various stakeholders. Informal collaborations are often useful precursors to more formal efforts. These informal

In 2009, the U.S. Postal Service collected, sorted, and delivered more than 177 billion pieces of mail. Finding more sustainable ways to process this mail and lower the carbon footprint of such a massive effort continues to be a central goal of the U.S. Postal Service. We spoke with Sam Pulcrano, Vice President of Sustainability at the U.S. Postal Service, about his leadership in forging sustainable operations, reducing the Postal Service’s carbon footprint, being good environmental stewards, and how it is leveraging innovation in all its sustainability efforts.

What are some of the critical transportation challenges facing the U.S.? How is RITA forging Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for the 21st Century? What is IntelliDrive? How does RITA use statistics and analysis in its efforts to improvement transportation systems?        

Vice President for Sustainability, United States Postal Service (USPS)

Sam Pulcrano was named Vice President, Sustainability in May 2008. He reports to the Senior Vice President, Operations. Pulcrano is responsible for unifying the Postal Service's sustainability efforts across every function and location. Earlier, Pulcrano was director of Safety and Environmental Performance at USPS Headquarters. He began his career as a mail handler in Poughkeepsie, NY, in 1975. He also has held key positions in Human Resources and Labor Relations at the district and area levels.