Five Year, $2.2 Million Effort Funds New Forest & Biodiversity
Conservation Alliance
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2004--
Office Depot, (NYSE:ODP), the world's leading reseller of paper,
today announced a five-year, $2.2 million strategy to develop the
information, standards and tools needed to advance the company's
forest and biodiversity conservation policies. The project work is
expected to help reduce the environmental footprint of the company's
forest and paper product suppliers while contributing to global
biodiversity conservation.
To achieve these objectives, Office Depot is collaborating with
NatureServe, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy -
three of the world's most respected science-driven conservation
organizations - to form the Forest & Biodiversity Conservation
Alliance, a cooperative working framework that will coordinate the
complementary strengths and resources of each organization to address
forest and biodiversity conservation issues within the supply chain.
"The creation of the Alliance is another strong demonstration of
Office Depot's commitment to pursue practical approaches to issues of
environmental concern," noted Bruce Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Office
Depot. "Environmental stewardship is advanced by people and
organizations that are specific in what they seek to achieve. We are
perfectly clear on the values we want to promote and advance, the
types of forests we want our suppliers to avoid, and the forest
practices we will and will not accept. The activities of this alliance
will assist forest managers in their efforts to address those values,
and provide Office Depot with the information and tools we need to
incorporate conservation science into our procurement decisions."
Nelson noted that the objectives of the Alliance are reflected in
a new Forest & Biodiversity Conservation section of Office Depot's
Environmental Paper Procurement Policy, also released today.
The Alliance, and the integration of its objectives within Office
Depot's Environmental Paper Procurement Policy, is the product of more
than 10 months of collaboration, during which time the conservation
science organizations worked with Office Depot to:
- Identify the challenges to forest and biodiversity conservation
faced by landowners, managers and Office Depot's own sourcing
and vendor compliance personnel; and
- Develop projects that would address these challenges, while
facilitating the implementation of Office Depot's policies on
Rare & Vulnerable Forests and Forests Containing Exceptional
Biodiversity Values.
To meet Office Depot's goal of being responsible, transparent and
accountable, Alliance members have committed to annually review and
publicly communicate the progress and results of its efforts.
Projects undertaken by the participating organizations will
initially fall into four priority areas:
- Developing Scientific Information to Improve Forest Management:
The Alliance will develop data to help foresters identify and
manage hundreds of imperiled and at-risk forest species and
natural communities, in regions such as the Pacific Northwest,
the Southeastern United States and British Columbia. Funding
will also help improve information systems to manage data about
these species and ecosystems.
- Refining and Applying Science-based Methods for Conserving
Biodiversity: This includes methods to effectively prioritize
forest lands for biological inventory, and to identify and
conserve key biodiversity areas within forest landscapes. Target
landscapes are expected to include the boreal forests of Canada
and the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil.
- Enhancing Environmental Procurement Practices: This includes
methods and tools to incorporate conservation criteria into
domestic and international sourcing decisions as well as vendor
compliance processes.
- Training Forest Managers and Scientists: This includes regional
workshops to train interested foresters, conservation
professionals and landowners in the use of these data, methods
and tools.
"Good decisions start with good information," said Mark Schaefer,
President and CEO of NatureServe. "By improving our scientific
understanding of forest species and their habitats, we can help forest
managers do a better job of conserving these precious resources.
Office Depot's support will further that goal."
"Through the engagement of businesses up and down the paper supply
chain, the Alliance hopes to actively influence conservation decisions
made on the ground, at the forest landscape level," said Steve
McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. "We will use
our expertise to help integrate scientific knowledge and leading edge
biodiversity conservation planning into forest management
decision-making."
While most forest and paper companies are eager to implement sound
conservation practices, the scientific information, methods and tools
needed for conservation priority setting, planning and implementation
are not always available, consistent or understood. One goal of the
project is to engage Office Depot suppliers and the forest
certification community, to the greatest extent possible, in efforts
leading to measurable conservation outcomes for forest species,
ecological communities and landscapes.
Office Depot has already briefed key suppliers (Abitibi
Consolidated, Bowater, International Paper and Weyerhaeuser) and the
dominant North American forest certification systems (CSA
International, The Sustainable Forestry Board - the independent
governing body of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative - and The Forest
Stewardship Council) to begin soliciting feedback and developing a
strategy for project development.
"The collaboration of conservation science and business ingenuity
is required if we are to work directly with pulp and paper suppliers
and purchasers to provide economic opportunities for local communities
while protecting the last remaining pristine forests in the world's
biodiversity hotspots," said Peter Seligmann, Chairman and CEO of
Conservation International.
The participating organizations have agreed to apply their
complementary strengths, geographic presence, program scope,
scientific knowledge and experience to achieve measurable conservation
outcomes in temperate, tropical and boreal regions of the world where
wood fiber production for paper products plays a defining role in land
use and natural resource management. Throughout this process, the
Alliance will seek broad consultation among interested stakeholders
that share its goals.
Press Conference Call Information
Office Depot, Conservation International, NatureServe and The
Nature Conservancy are hosting a conference call for the media at 3:00
p.m. (Eastern Time) today. U.S. media representatives should call
800-314-7867 (confirmation 528848). International media may call
719-867-0640. A replay of the call will be available for seven days
and can be accessed by calling 719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112.
About Office Depot
With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more
office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot.
Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, FL, the company
conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people
worldwide. Office Depot is the world's number two online retailer -
generating $2.6B in sales for FY'03. In North America, Office Depot
has 900 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business
delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local
sales offices and 13 regional call centers. Additional press
information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
About Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) believes that the Earth's natural
heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive
spiritually, culturally and economically. CI is currently working on
projects in more than 40 countries on four continents to protect
global biodiversity and demonstrate that human societies can live
harmoniously with nature. CI develops scientific, policy, and economic
solutions to protect threatened natural ecosystems that are rich in
biodiversity. To find out more, visit www.conservation.org.
About NatureServe
NatureServe is a non-profit conservation group dedicated to
providing the scientific information and technology needed to guide
effective conservation action. NatureServe represents a network of 75
natural heritage programs and conservation data centers in the United
States, Canada, and Latin America that collect and analyze information
on plants, animals, and ecosystems. NatureServe is a leading source
for detailed scientific information about rare and endangered species
and threatened ecosystems. Visit us on the web at www.natureserve.org.
About The Nature Conservancy
With operations in all 50 U.S. states and 30 other countries, The
Nature Conservancy is a private, international, non-profit
organization established in 1951 to preserve the plants, animals and
natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by
protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the
Conservancy and its one million members have been responsible for the
protection of more than 117 million acres in the United States and 27
countries around the world. Additional information can be found at
http://nature.org/
CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach
Brian Levine, 561-438-2895
blevine@officedepot.com
or
NatureServe
Rob Riordan, 703-908-1831
rob_riordan@natureserve.org
or
Conservation International
Jason Anderson, 202-912-1464
j.anderson@celb.org
or
The Nature Conservancy
Jim Petterson, 303-541-0369
jpetterson@tnc.org
SOURCE: Office Depot
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