View printer-friendly version

<< Back

Office Depot Honored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center with Corporate Stewardship Award

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2004--Office Depot, Inc., (NYSE:ODP), one of the world's leading resellers of office products and services, is proud to announce that the company has been honored with the United States Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Stewardship Award for Large Companies. The United States Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship (CCC) recently announced the winners of the 2004 Corporate Citizenship Awards, which recognizes businesses and chambers that have demonstrated ethical leadership and corporate stewardship. The award was presented to Charles Brown, Chief Financial Officer for Office Depot by Thomas Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans. According to the Center for Corporate Citizenship, the Corporate Stewardship Awards are presented to companies that exemplify the highest ideals in corporate stewardship. "Those who are practicing responsible corporate stewardship are answering the President's call to service. They are serving a cause that is greater than themselves and I've seen the difference it can make," Secretary Evans noted. "Our environmental stewardship efforts and our National backpack Program were singled out, in particular, as examples of our company-wide commitment to Caring and Making a Difference, and Taking Care of Kids," said Charles Brown, Chief Financial Officer for Office Depot. "Office Depot earned this recognition on the basis of its dedication to the principles of corporate social responsibility in all its forms," Brown added. Representative of its strong commitment to environmental stewardship and the conservation of natural resources throughout the organization, Office Depot recently released the industry's first independently audited environmental stewardship report. Available in its entirety at www.officedepot.com/environment, the landmark report, The Nature of Business(TM) provides an independently verified account of the key policy and infrastructure initiatives undertaken by Office Depot during the past year, and details the resulting environmental benefits. Office Depot's signature National Backpack in-kind program is valued at more than $7 million. Each year the company donates more than 250,000 backpacks with school supplies to "at-risk" children across North America. "In 2004, we saw remarkable contributions by the business community in terms of disaster assistance, community service, and support for our troops," said Suzanne Clark, Chamber chief operating officer and CCC president. "We also recognized some exceptional companies whose business success stemmed from their core values--Office Depot is a good example of such a company." Previous recipients of the Corporate Stewardship Award have included Merck & Company, ConAgra Foods, Coca-Cola and UPS. About Office Depot Office Depot is the world's largest reseller of recycled paper products. The company'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. 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, Inc.