DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2005--Office Depot
(NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services,
today announced that it has met the new, tougher entry criteria for
inclusion in the FTSE4Good U.S. and Global Indexes. Created in 2001 by
global index provider FTSE Group, the index assesses companies'
corporate social responsibility practices based on investment
principles consisting of environmental sustainability, developing
positive stakeholder relationships and universal human rights support.
Office Depot, the only global office products and services
provider currently included in the index, joins a distinguished list
of companies from Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America who have met
these more stringent standards. Office Depot is the first company in
its industry to meet FTSE Group's enhanced environmental requirements,
which come into full effect in January 2006.
"Office Depot is honored to be recognized by the FTSE Group for
our commitment to environmental responsibility, transparency and
accountability," said Tyler Elm, Office Depot's Director of
Environmental Affairs. "We remain focused on driving shareholder value
by helping our customers achieve their business objectives in a way
that demonstrates a shared responsibility toward environmental
stewardship."
Jerry Moskowitz, Managing Director, FTSE Americas, added: "The
FTSE4Good Index is not only designed to provide a tool for identifying
and investing in companies that meet globally recognized corporate
responsibility standards, but also to contribute to the development of
responsible worldwide business practices. We are delighted that Office
Depot's environmental reporting, management and policies continue to
reflect a consistent commitment to corporate social responsibility."
According to Moskowitz, companies are assessed against the
FTSE4Good selection criteria by the independent Ethical Investment
Research Service, which researched both the U.S.- and European-based
Office Depot operations during their assessment.
Office Depot, also listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index,
focuses its environmental initiatives on sustainable forest
management, recycling and pollution reduction, as well as driving
awareness of environmental issues and creating markets for
environmentally preferable products.
According to Elm, Office Depot is the only office supply company
producing an independently verified Environmental Stewardship Report.
Audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Report provides an overview of
the Company's environmental performance and initiatives and may be
downloaded by visiting www.officedepot.com/environment.
Beyond its industry-leading 35% post-consumer waste content paper,
Office Depot offers thousands of products containing recycled
materials. In January 2005, the company issued its Green Book catalog
of environmentally-friendly products to U.S. contract customers. The
84% increase in environmentally-preferable products highlighted in the
2005 edition, includes: paper; pens; energy efficient computer
displays, printers and light bulbs; toner cartridges; and
biodegradable packing materials.
The Green Book itself is the only environmentally preferable
office products catalog printed on elemental chlorine-free 100%
post-consumer waste recycled paper and is distributed to more than
40,000 organizations to help easily "green" their office supply
purchasing process. Businesses can obtain a free copy of the Green
Book through Office Depot's environmental Web site at
www.officedepot.com/environment or through its Business Services
Division at +1-888-2-OFFICE.
FTSE4Good is a series of real-time indexes designed to reflect the
performance of socially responsible equities. The series covers the
UK, European, Japanese, U.S. and global markets, and consists of four
tradable and five benchmark indexes. Independent socially responsible
investment (SRI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
practitioners regularly review the indexes to ensure they accurately
reflect current CSR best practices.
Editor's Note: For more information on Office Depot's
environmental initiatives, visit www.officedepot.com/environment.
Office Depot's Green Book catalog is available free-of-charge to
Office Depot's Business Services Division contract customers
(http://bsd.officedepot.com or 888-2-OFFICE). For more information
about the FTSE4Good Index Series, visit www.ftse.com/ftse4good/.
About Office Depot
With annual sales approaching $14 billion, Office Depot provides
more office products and services to more customers in more countries
than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in
Delray Beach, Florida, Office Depot conducts business in 23 countries
and employs 47,000 people worldwide. The Company operates under the
Office Depot(R), Viking Office Products(R), Viking Direct(R),
Guilbert(R), and Tech Depot(R) brand names.
Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from
retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. With
$3.1 billion in online sales in FY'04, the Company is the world's
number three Internet retailer. As of December 25, 2004, Office Depot
has 969 retail stores in North America in addition to a national
business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers
and more than 60 local sales offices. Internationally, the Company
conducts wholly-owned operations in 14 countries through 78 retail
stores and 25 distribution centers, and operates 153 retail stores
under joint venture and license arrangements in another seven
countries.
The company's common stock is listed 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.
About FTSE Group
FTSE Group is a world leader in the creation and management of
indexes, including the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, a broad family
of indexes capturing Large, Mid and Small Cap stocks. The series also
contains the widely used FTSE All-World Index and a variety of
strategy indexes including socially responsible investment
(FTSE4Good), multinationals and style. In addition, FTSE calculates a
broad range of asset class and domestic equity indexes such as FTSE
Hedge and the prestigious FTSE 100 for the UK market. Custom indexes
are also available to suit an endless variety of investment
strategies.
In the US, FTSE has partnered with several notable financial
industry leaders to create and manage products for the investment
community -- including Dow Jones Indexes to build the Industry
Classification Benchmark (ICB), a global classification standard; and
Rockville, MD-based Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) to create
corporate governance benchmark indexes. In other markets, FTSE also
has collaborative arrangements with the Athens, Cyprus, Euronext,
Johannesburg, London, Luxembourg, and Madrid exchanges, as well as
with Nikkei of Japan (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc), and Xinhua Financial
Network of China. With offices in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong,
Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, FTSE Group services
clients in 77 countries worldwide. Real-time FTSE indices are
calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX rates used are
supplied by Reuters.
About the FTSE4Good Index Series
FTSE4Good is an innovative series of real-time indices designed to
reflect the performance of socially responsible equities. The series,
created and managed by global index provider FTSE Group, covers five
markets: UK, Europe, US, Japan and Global. Five benchmark and four
tradable indices make up the FTSE4Good index series.
The FTSE4Good selection criteria cover three areas: environmental
sustainability, human rights, and stakeholder relations. A committee
of independent practitioners in socially responsible investment (SRI),
and corporate social responsibility (CSR), review the indices to
ensure that they remain an accurate reflection of current CSR best
practice.
Inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series provides recognition a
company meets international CSR good practice standards, and exposure
to a global network of investors.
FTSE Group contributes income including license fees for FTSE4Good
to UNICEF, the global children's charity.
CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach
Brian Levine, 561/438-2895
blevine@officedepot.com
SOURCE: Office Depot
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