Inaugural Report Highlights Industry-Leading Environmental Performance of Company; Notes More Than 700,000 Trees Conserved and 3.5 million Ink/Toner Cartridges Recycled in First Year of Implementation
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2004-- When Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), one of the world's leading resellers
of products containing recycled content, announced its new
Environmental Paper Procurement Policy & Vision Statement on Earth Day
2003, the company set out to create a new level of responsibility,
transparency and accountability related to the environment. A detailed
look at the company's environmental initiatives and accomplishments is
being released today in a landmark report providing an audited account
of its environmental achievements.
Available in its entirety at www.officedepot.com/environment, the
2004 Environmental Stewardship Report focuses on the key policy and
infrastructure initiatives undertaken by Office Depot during the past
year, and details the resulting environmental benefits.
The publication of the industry's first-ever audited environmental
report marks the latest in a series of firsts for Office Depot in its
mission to be a leader in environmental performance while raising the
bar for other retailers.
"Our environmental strategy is values-based and market-driven,"
said Neil Austrian, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. "It is clearly
the 'right thing to do' and resonates with our employees and business
partners as well as our customers and the investment community - who
share this philosophy and want to do business with a company that
derives economic value from improved environmental outcomes. The
independent audit of our environmental performance by
PricewaterhouseCoopers supports this strategy by contributing to our
stakeholders' confidence in Office Depot and our commitment to
environmental stewardship."
Report Highlights
The Report presents both corporate environmental performance, such
as the performance from activities over which Office Depot has direct
control or management responsibility, as well as customer
environmental performance resulting from purchasing activity.
Overall, Office Depot's corporate environmental performance
related to the use of environmentally preferable paper was three times
that of its customers, demonstrating that the retailer leads the
market in the use of environmentally preferable office papers.
However, it's important to note that the overall performance of
Office Depot's customers increased at a healthy rate in 2003 - roughly
50% in a year-over-year comparison - demonstrating the positive
effects of the Company's environmental policies and programs and their
ability to raise customer awareness of environmental issues and
develop markets for environmentally preferable office products.
The following figures from the Report are related to the Company's
Paper Procurement and Forest and Biodiversity Conservation policies:
Environmentally-Preferable Paper:
-- Approximately 52% of the office paper used by Office Depot's
corporate offices contained recycled content, achieving an
average annual total post-consumer waste (PCW) recycled
content of 17.5%
-- Approximately 14% of the office paper purchased by Office
Depot customers contained recycled content, achieving an
average annual total PCW recycled content of 4.5%
-- The combined, aggregate PCW recycled content of all office,
marketing and shipping paper products used and sold during
2003 was 5.74%.
Conservation:
-- Nearly 700,000 trees were conserved as a result of the use or
sale of environmentally preferable paper and recycling
initiatives (pp. 18-31). Examples:
-- Office Depot's Green Book catalog -- the industry's first
catalog dedicated to environmentally preferable products
and printed on 100% Post Consumer Waste recycled paper (p.
20).
-- The company's EnviroCopy paper, which requires 35% less
trees to produce and results in 13% fewer greenhouse gas
emissions (p. 17).
Ink, Toner and Laser Cartridge Recycling:
-- More than 3.5 million ink and toner cartridges were recycled
-- a 168% increase over 2002 - and more than 1 million laser
cartridges were recycled -- a 68% increase over 2002 (p. 21).
-- Business customers are provided with free, postage-paid
envelopes to return used cartridges for recycling.
-- Retail customers are offered a free ream of EnviroCopy
paper when they return eligible ink or toner cartridges.
Greenhouse Gases:
-- Eliminated more than 30,000 tons (or approximately 60,000,000
pounds) of hazardous gases (pp. 18-31) in 2003, as it relates
to environmentally conscious procurement and recycling
practices.
The Report also outlines Office Depot's "roadmap to success,"
setting forth specific, measurable environmental goals for the coming
year, another first for the office supply industry. Future initiatives
will continue to focus on project partnerships with the company's
stakeholders, addressing responsible forest management, the
conservation of forests and the biodiversity they contain.
Specifically, the company plans to:
-- Expand the application of its environmental policies to its
European operations.
-- Enhance the environmental performance of Office Depot's
branded lineup of office papers.
-- Work with suppliers to implement an independent
chain-of-custody system to track the use of environmentally
certified paper.
Additionally, Office Depot plans on expanding its use of
environmentally preferable paper in its Canadian advertising insert
program (p. 19), and has established the goal of achieving an annual
total average of 50% PCW recycled content for this program by the end
of 2004.
Office Depot will also continue to incorporate conservation
science into its procurement processes, specifically as it relates to
knowledge of at-risk species and ecological communities, while also
expanding its strategic relationships with the world's leading
conservation science organizations, known as its Forest & Biodiversity
Conservation Alliance (p. 34).
"From day one, Office Depot set out to distinguish itself by using
conservation science as the foundation of its environmental policies
and programs," said Tyler Elm, Office Depot's Director of
Environmental Affairs. "This approach enabled the Company to establish
a responsible environmental strategy, transparent policies and a
reporting process that ensures accountability to environmental
commitments."
"Office Depot's Environmental Stewardship Report tells an
impressive story of industry leadership in working with the
environmental community on global biodiversity conservation and other
critical issues of our time," noted Justin Ward, Senior Director of
Forestry at Conservation International. "This type of transparent
reporting enables companies, shareholders, customers and other
stakeholders to take stock of what has been accomplished, and what
still needs to be done, to fulfill corporate environmental
commitments."
Scope of the Report
Office Depot's Environmental Stewardship Report highlights the
company's 2003 environmental initiatives and performance relating to
the Environmental Paper Procurement Policy & Vision Statement,
including the use and sale of environmentally preferable paper,
off-site recycling, participation in environmental conferences and
work groups, implementation of environmental policies, and other
programs to promote and advance environmental stewardship.
To verify Office Depot's performance in the above areas, the
Company underwent an independent audit by a multi-disciplinary team of
sustainability specialists from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Forest
& Paper and Environmental Management Systems practices.
PricewaterhouseCoopers verified that the information in Office Depot's
Report was supported appropriately with underlying evidence and "is
fairly stated in all material respects."
"Our audit confirms Office Depot's commitment to third-party
assurance of their progress toward their stated environmental goals,"
said Bruce McIntyre, a Partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global
Forest & Paper Practice. "Independent assurance of corporate
responsibility reports is part of a trend towards increasing
transparency in the environmental, social and economic elements of
business."
Editor's Note: The entire downloadable 2004 Office Depot
Environmental Stewardship Report (PDF format) can be found at
http://www.officedepot.com/environment. Consumers or businesses may
contact Office Depot regarding more information or to pass along
suggestions via email at environment@officedepot.com. For more
information on the Forest & Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, visit
http://www.community.officedepot.com/environment.asp.
Audit Methodology
PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit approach (p. 3) was completed in
accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements
(ISAE) 3000, developed by the International Federation of Accountants.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has marked the report with green check marks,
which indicate where the report is supported by underlying evidence
and verified by the auditors. The reported results reflect Office
Depot's performance against the Company's Environmental Paper
Procurement Policy & Vision Statement in Canada and the U.S. With
North American business operations contributing 78% of gross revenue
during 2003, this geographic scope coincides with the Company's
largest business unit and captures the majority of Office Depot's
environmental efforts during 2003.
About Office Depot
Office Depot's environmental initiatives center on three guiding
principles: Recycling and Pollution Reduction; Sustainable Forest
Management; and Issue Awareness and Market Development for
environmentally preferable products. No other company in the office
products industry has made as strong a commitment to conserve our
forests. Office Depot is already one of the largest resellers of
recycled paper and recycled content products. In addition to the
Company's industry-leading 35% post consumer waste content paper,
Office Depot offers thousands of different products containing
recycled content and added new products including 100% post consumer
waste content papers during 2003.
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, Fla., the Company
conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people
worldwide.
Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from
retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The
company is the world's number three online retailer - on track to
generate $3B in sales for FY'04. In North America, Office Depot has
923 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.
The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.
Additional press information can be found at:
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach
Brian Levine, 561/438-2895
blevine@officedepot.com
SOURCE: Office Depot
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