DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2005--Office Depot
(NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services,
today announced that it has been named the winner of the Outstanding
Retailer Award, part of the inaugural "America's Marketplace
Recycles!" awards program jointly sponsored by the International
Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
The awards program, in recognition of today's Earth Day
celebrations, highlights outstanding efforts and achievements by ICSC
members to conserve resources, recycle, and purchase recycled-content
products. It was also designed to increase public awareness of the
benefits of recycling.
"We are pleased to recognize Office Depot among those retailers
that are leading the way in both recycling and environmental
sensitivity," said ICSC President and CEO Michael P. Kercheval.
"Through its own corporate initiatives as a national supplier of
office products, Office Depot is setting a highly visible example of
environmental stewardship in action."
Kercheval cited several recent examples:
-- On December 21, 2004, Office Depot, in conjunction with the
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), announced a
free cell phone and rechargeable battery recycling program,
collecting more than a ton of obsolete products in the first
three months.
-- On Nov. 21, 2004, Office Depot announced an enhancement of its
Ink & Toner Recycling program, which is responsible for the
recycling of more than 10.6 million cartridges since 2002.
-- On July 13, 2004, Office Depot and Hewlett-Packard announced
the first free, nationwide electronics recycling initiative -
a pilot program that collected over 10.5 million pounds of
unwanted electronics from more than 800 stores in less than
two months, becoming the largest single electronics recycling
initiative in history.
-- On June 2, 2004, Office Depot announced performance and
environmental enhancements to its name brand paper, including
improved brightness, smoothness and recycled content. In doing
so, Office Depot more than doubled the annual environmental
benefits, conserving an estimated 1.3 million fully grown
trees and preventing more than 110 million pounds of
greenhouse gas emissions and 57 million pounds of solid waste
each year.
"Office Depot is committed to integrating nature into the everyday
world of business," said Tyler Elm, Director of Environmental Affairs
for Office Depot. "By improving our own environmental performance and
that of Office Depot-branded products, we provide customers with the
ability to do the same. It's rewarding to receive international
recognition from the ICSC and EPA, which serves as a strong validation
of our efforts to date."
"The EPA is pleased to have assisted ICSC in the establishment of
this important initiative," said Tom Dunne, EPA Deputy Assistant
Administrator, who noted that the EPA provided technical assistance
and guidance to ICSC through its Resource Conservation Challenge
program. "We believe improvements in recycling at America's shopping
centers will have a significant impact. More importantly, shopping
centers are a crucial venue to help educate our nation's consumers of
the value of recycling."
The Outstanding Retailer Award is the latest recognition of Office
Depot's environmental initiatives. Most recently, the company was
again named to the FTSE4Good Index, which assesses companies'
corporate social responsibility practices based on socially
responsible investment principles, and was honored with the United
States Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Stewardship Award for Large
Companies.
Office Depot, which is also listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability
Index, focuses its environmental initiatives on sustainable forest
management, recycling and pollution reduction, as well as the
promotion of environmental issues and the creation of markets for
environmentally-preferable products.
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-preferable 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. Businesses can obtain a free copy of
the Green Book through Office Depot's environmental Web site at
www.officedepot.com/environment.
The Green Book itself is the only environmentally-preferable
office products catalog printed on elemental chlorine-free 100% PCW
recycled paper and is distributed to more than 40,000 organizations to
help easily "green" their office supply purchasing process.
The "America's Marketplace Recycles!" Awards program featured
seven categories, including Best New Recycling Program; Best Expansion
of an Existing Recycling Program; Outstanding Retailer; Outstanding
Mall Owner/Developer; Best Public Awareness Campaign/Promotional
Event; Best Community Partnership/Beneficial Use of Funds; and Most
Innovative Recycling Program. In addition, a single program was
selected as Recycler of the Year from among the overall nominations.
Editor's Note: For more information on Office Depot's
environmental initiatives, visit www.officedepot.com/environment.
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 March 26, 2005, Office Depot has
995 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 77 retail
stores and 26 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 ICSC
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the global retail real estate trade
association of the shopping center industry. ICSC directly benefits
more than 50,000 members in over 96 countries by assisting in the
development of their businesses through professional education,
conferences and conventions, publications, research and legislative
action. For more information, visit www.icsc.org.
About EPA
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to
protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been
working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov.
CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach
Brian Levine, 561/438-2895
blevine@officedepot.com
SOURCE: Office Depot
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