|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
12.01.2004 ET
|
CSR News from:
|
Office Depot, Inc.
|
|
News Category:
|
|
Office Depot Releases Industry's First Independently Audited Environmental Stewardship Report
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
(CSRwire) DELRAY BEACH, FL -- 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 Repor 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://www.mediarelations.officedepot.com.
|
|
