"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®, Viking Office Products®, Viking Direct®, Guilbert®, and Tech Depot® 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: 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.