Office Depot recognized by Newsweek as most-green US large retailer for third straight year; company cited for ongoing effort to reduce its environmental footprint, 'buy greener, be greener and sell greener' strategy

Cindy Allen

BOCA RATON, Florida , November 5, 2012 (press release) – Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that it has been recognized in Newsweek magazine’s annual Green Rankings as the number one greenest large retailer in America for the third consecutive year. Across all industry sectors, Office Depot was ranked as America’s ninth greenest large company.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Top Green Retailer ranking in Newsweek’s Green Rankings once again,” said Kevin Peters, President, North America for Office Depot. “As an organization entrenched in service, we focus on continually meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers. For customers whose needs include buying green office products from suppliers committed to the environment – Office Depot has shown once again that we’re the greener way to get their supplies.”

Office Depot received the highest mark for transparency of environmental disclosure among retailers evaluated and was recognized for its innovative use of electric bicycles to deliver products in certain markets. The main reason for the company’s top ranking, however, was due to its ongoing effort to reduce its environmental footprints including carbon, water, waste and materials; and its best-practice environmental management program through its strategy to “buy greener, be greener and sell greener.”

Implementation of this strategy is tracked in a PwC-reviewed Environmental Dashboard, which details how Office Depot has improved year-over-year.

“Our environmental strategy is a business strategy,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director, Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. “We start with what our customers want and align our internal and external environmental efforts toward meeting their needs. What’s great about the recognition that comes from Newsweek’s rankings is that it encourages more eco-conscious customers to choose Office Depot. And through their greener purchasing efforts, we collectively drive long-term environmental footprint reduction across the whole value chain.”

About Newsweek’s Green Ranking Methodology

To produce the 2012 Green Rankings, Newsweek collaborated with leading environmental research providers, Trucost and Sustainalytics, to assess each company’s environmental footprint, management of that footprint, and transparency. The Green Rankings focus on the largest publicly traded companies in America (the U.S. 500 list) and worldwide (the Global 500 list). Each list consists of the largest 500 companies by revenue (most recent fiscal year), market capitalization, and number of employees, as of April 30, 2012. A number of the largest U.S.–based companies appear on both lists.

For complete information about the rankings and how they were calculated, please visit: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/22/newsweek-green-rankings-2012-full-methodology.html

About Office Depot’s Environmental Initiatives

In 2003 Office Depot launched The Green Book™ catalog of environmentally preferable products and has released a green catalog almost every year since; Office Depot’s closest competitor created its first such catalog in 2008.
In 2004 Office Depot developed an industry-leading environmental paper purchasing policy, helping its customers avoid sourcing from potentially controversial forest sources.
In 2005 Office Depot expanded an extensive Ink & Toner Recycling Program for customers.
In 2006 Office Depot released a Green Book catalog in 7 European countries.
In 2007 Office Depot started a Green Customer Awards program, publicly recognizing large customers for their greener purchasing practices.
In 2007 Office Depot also launched an educational seminar series focused on greening the workplace. This has since rolled out to over 20 cities in the US, and has been attended by over 2,000 purchasing, facilities and administrative executives across the country.
In 2008 Office Depot created a website for greener purchasing: www.officedepot.com/greeneroffice.
In 2009 Office Depot created the Green Business Review, a report which shows customers green spend and the environmental and financial trade-offs of greener purchases.
In 2010 Office Depot helped customers achieve LEED Credits by creating a report to track “sustainable purchasing” in the format required by the US Green Building Council.
In 2011 Office Depot launched its GreenerOffice Delivery Service that gives customers a greener way to get their office supplies in paper bags instead of cardboard boxes.
In 2011 Office Depot expanded its “Green Fleet” of environmental delivery vehicles to Portland, Ore.
In 2011, the Company hosted the first annual Office Depot Greener Purchasing Summit & Awards Ceremony, recognizing 25 organizations for Leadership in Greener Purchasing.

For more information about Office Depot’s environmental initiatives, visit: www.officedepot.cc/environment/

About Office Depot

Office Depot provides office supplies and services through 1,680 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.5 billion, employs about 39,000 associates, and serves customers in 60 countries around the world.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com and http://socialpress.officedepot.com/.