Office Depot® Launches Greener Shipping Solution for Business Customers
New Partnership with EarthEra Helps Customers Earn Rewards For Reducing Carbon Emissions
BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, is launching the Greener Shipping solution, helping business customers earn rewards and product discounts for reducing the carbon footprint associated with their office supply orders. Greener Shipping is the first offering under a partnership between Office Depot and EarthEra, a program created by NextEra Energy Resources, North America's largest producer of wind and solar power.
"The goal of Greener Shipping is to provide our customers with meaningful incentives that reward them for making small changes in their purchasing patterns, resulting in reduced carbon emissions associated with daily shipping of products to these customers," said Bill Maher, Vice President of Private Sector and Global Accounts for the Business Solutions Division of Office Depot. "We believe this is a groundbreaking solution for the office products industry, one that can yield significant cost savings and environmental improvements."
Office Depot and EarthEra designed the Greener Shipping solution to address the fact that every shipment to Office Depot customers results in carbon dioxide emissions. Office Depot and its customers - larger ones especially - have a role in creating those emissions. The Greener Shipping program provides a simple and convenient way for Office Depot and its customers to work together to maximize delivery schedules. The results are tangible benefits for participating businesses and lower carbon emissions from deliveries.
"Office Depot has implemented a series of measures every year since 2006 that have reduced our delivery-related emissions in North America," said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. "We also recognize that our customers' ordering behavior directly controls how frequently deliveries are made. The Greener Shipping program encourages customers to make simple changes – such as eliminating small orders and increasing average order value – that reduce delivery frequency, resulting in lower fuel use and associated carbon emissions."
How It Works
The new Greener Shipping solution from Office Depot lets business customers earn rewards and help the environment, simply by changing their ordering habits. To participate, eligible customers agree to meet certain targets that eliminate small orders, increase average order size or reduce delivery schedule. Last-minute deliveries are always available as an option.
Benefits Of Greener Shipping
Customers who elect Greener Shipping can receive:
- Generous rebates towards Office Depot's leading green office product line
- EarthEra® renewable energy and carbon offset products that help build new renewable energy such as wind and solar power
- Free consultation sessions for the business on topics including how to develop energy efficiency programs, realize cost-savings for green practices, reduce waste, use green cleaning products and more
"We are proud to partner with Office Depot and its business customers through the innovative Greener Shipping program," said Nate Hanson, Vice President Power Marketing, NextEra Energy Resources. "Greener Shipping provides businesses with a very direct way to reap the benefits of reducing carbon emissions by participating in the EarthEra program that is helping to build a clean energy future."
Office Depot will provide eligible customers with rebates on a variety of green office products and EarthEra renewable energy and carbon offset products, in the customer's name. The EarthEra products provided through Greener Shipping can be used to support the customer's green power commitment or other climate related initiatives.
Given its unique structure and benefits, the Greener Shipping solution represents a new way for suppliers and customers to collaborate to reduce carbon emissions and help the United States transition to a greener, cleaner energy future. The program combines absolute carbon reductions through reduced delivery and fuel use, and enables a faster transition to renewable energy through the purchase of EarthEra products. The innovative structure of the EarthEra program, uses 100 percent of the revenue from the purchase of EarthEra products to create new renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar, in the United States.
Environmental Leadership
The Greener Shipping Program is one of Office Depot's many efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and implement environmental leadership programs. In 2007 Office Depot won an Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Smartway Transportation Program for its efforts to track and reduce the carbon footprint of its North American deliveries.
In addition, Office Depot has purchased renewable energy certificates every year since 2005 and "Carbon-Balanced" the entire carbon footprint of its global headquarters in Boca Raton, FL, in 2009 through the EarthEra program. In 2010, as part of its commitment to LEED certification, Office Depot is undertaking a major environmental initiative to open only "green" retail stores beginning this June.
To learn more about Office Depot's Greener Shipping Program, please visit http://www.earthera.com/officedepotgreenershipping.aspx
To buy greener office products from Office Depot, please visit http://www.officedepot.com/greeneroffice.
For more information about Office Depot's overall environmental initiatives, visit http://socialpressofficedepot.com/environmental-initiatives/.
You can also find Office Depot on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OfficeDepot and Twitter at http://twitter.com/officedepot.
About Office Depot
Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. From the local corner store to the Fortune 500 company, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,584 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.1 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $12.1 billion, and employs about 41,000 associates around the world. The company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 51 countries. Office Depot'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 EarthEra
EarthEra, a program created by NextEra Energy Resources, North America's largest producer of wind and solar power, provides companies and individuals the opportunity to reduce their carbon impact and participate in the development of new renewable projects. Through an innovative brand promise, 100% of the revenue from EarthEra product purchases is directed to EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust and used to build new renewable energy facilities in North America. To date, the Trust has over $23 million in commitments from leading organizations and forward thinking individuals across the nation. NextEra Energy Resources is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc., a leading clean energy company (NYSE: FPL). For more information visit: www.EarthEra.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com, www.FPLGroup.com.
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