Office Depot To Offer Customers Copy Paper Manufactured With 100% Renewable Electricity Certified By Green-e

Office Depot's 100% Recycled Envirocopy Paper, Sourced from fellow Green-e Marketplace Participant New Leaf Paper, Gives Customers Option of Purchasing Paper Carrying the Green-e Certification Mark of Renewable Energy


Contact
Jeff Swenerton
CRS Communications Director
415-561-2119
jeff@resource-solutions.org

 
Melissa Perlman
Office Depot
561-438-0704
Melissa.Perlman@officedepot.com

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 8, 2010)—Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced today that Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading provider of office products and solutions, has joined Green-e® Marketplace by purchasing enough Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy to meet 100% of the annual electricity needs for its headquarters and by ensuring the Company's 100% Recycled Envirocopy™ is manufactured with renewable electricity.

Office Depot recently purchased 15,500 MWh of Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy certificates from NextEra Energy Resources. By participating in Green-e Marketplace, Office Depot can now display the Green-e logo on its line of Office Depot Green 100% Recycled Envirocopy paper. Envirocopy will be sourced through fellow Green-e Marketplace participant, New Leaf Paper. "We are pleased to incorporate renewable energy certification into our line of Envirocopy paper," said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. "Working with a recognized program like Green-e gives us an added level of verification and helps continue our position as a leader in the office products industry."

With Office Depot's strong leadership in the office-supply industry, businesses and individuals will now be able to source copy paper with a lower energy footprint. "Office Depot has taken an important step forward in integrating its renewable energy commitment into its products," said Arthur O'Donnell, Center for Resource Solutions executive director. "By allowing customers to purchase copy paper that has been made with renewable electricity, Office Depot is creating options for businesses and individuals to source their paper responsibly."

Office Depot joins a growing list of companies and organizations taking real action to reduce the impact of their energy use. Electricity generated from renewable sources results in less environmental waste and pollution and displaces other non-renewable sources from the electric grid. Office Depot's purchase of electricity generated from nearly emissions-free renewable sources avoids carbon dioxide and other pollutants and serves to build the market for renewable energy nationwide, increasing incentives for developing new facilities. Currently, renewable energy accounts for only about two percent of total electricity generation nationwide.

Renewable energy certificates purchased by Office Depot were certified by Green-e Energy, the leading renewable energy certification program in the nation. Green-e Energy provides independent, third-party certification to ensure renewable energy products meet strict environmental and consumer protection standards, including: sourcing from verified, new facilities; not double-counted towards any state's renewable energy goal; and retired on behalf of the purchaser. Every Green-e Marketplace participant undergoes an annual verification audit to document that it has purchased enough certified renewable energy to meet its commitment.

To learn more about Office Depot's environmental strategy, please visit www.officedepot.com/environment.


About Office Depot
Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,587 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.2 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 52 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 mediarelations.officedepot.com. Media materials specific to Office Depot's environmental initiatives can be found at socialpressofficedepot.com/environmental-initiatives.

About Green-e Marketplace and Center for Resource Solutions
Green-e Marketplace provides forward-thinking organizations with a simple, nationally recognized logo they can use to communicate their commitment to renewable energy to their customers and shareholders. The Green-e logo is the nation's leading symbol of renewable energy excellence and distinguishes Green-e Marketplace participants as environmental leaders. Green-e is a program of Center for Resource Solutions, a nonprofit that creates policy and market solutions to advance sustainable energy. To learn more, visit Center for Resource Solutions and Green-e Marketplace.

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