August 4, 2011
Office Depot has launched a nationwide GreenerOffice Delivery Service where customers can now receive their supplies in paper bags instead of cardboard boxes, eliminating the need for upwards of 5 million cardboard boxes over the next 12 months.
Over the next year, the program is expected to replace approximately 4.5 million pounds of cardboard boxes with about 0.9 million pounds of paper, helping avoid more than 3.5 million pounds of wood-based resources, or over 20,000 trees, Office Depot reported.
The program follows a successful pilot program where more than 90 percent of eligible customers opted in to the GreenerOffice service. The paper bags, which contain 40 percent post-consumer recycled content, are protected during transportation in a reusable plastic tote, which contains 60 percent post consumer recycled plastic. The totes are taken back by drivers after delivery and reused by Office Depot for future deliveries.
"Office Depot's material footprint from cardboard use is significant," said Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for Office Depot. "This program, championed very effectively by our supply chain team, delivers a triple win: our customers win because the paper bags are more convenient to open and recycle; Office Depot wins because we continue to enhance our environmental leadership; and the ecosystem benefits because fewer materials are needed, and less waste ends up in our landfills."
The new GreenerOffice Delivery Service is available to all Office Depot business customers, and customers can choose to opt-out at any time. Deliveries will not be made by bag for UPS shipments, large orders such as cases of paper.
The University of Notre Dame was an early adopter of the program. "Office Depot continues to offer its customers fresh ideas and innovative ways to bring sustainability to the forefront," said Erin Hafner, programs manager for University of Notre Dame's Office of Sustainability. "The University discovered that the boxes and the plastic pillows we were receiving from deliveries were a huge burden as far as waste goes and accounted for 200 tons of waste annually. The Office Depot GreenerOffice Delivery Service will make a significant environmental impact and provides a true benefit to the University."