Office Depot Recognizes Counties across America for Energy Efficiency in 'Change a Light' Campaign

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, is joining with the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize six counties from across the United States for leading the way in promoting energy efficiency and achieving success in this year’s NACo “Change A Light” campaign.

“We are proud to partner with NACo to help county employees and residents gain the environmental and economic benefits of switching to Office Depot Green Compact Fluorescent Lights.”

The winning counties are: Hennepin County, Minnesota, Carroll County, Md., Habersham County, Ga., Fairfax County, Va., Arlington County, Va., and Douglas County, Minn.

In October 2008, each of the winning counties received 1,000 free Office Depot Green brand Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) to distribute throughout their respective communities, courtesy of Office Depot. Office Depot, a partner with NACo since the inception of the county program in 2006, provided a $3 coupon good towards the purchase of a new light bulb to all county employees and residents who signed the pledge. Office Depot Green brand CFLs are part of the Company’s wide assortment of environmentally preferable products, available online at www.officedepot.com/buygreen.

“Office Depot congratulates the six counties that won the 2007 County ENERGY STAR Change a Light Campaign,” said Richard Diamond, Vice President of Merchandising for Office Depot. “We are proud to partner with NACo to help county employees and residents gain the environmental and economic benefits of switching to Office Depot Green Compact Fluorescent Lights.”

More than 14,700 county employees and residents throughout the country pledged to replace one or more incandescent bulbs or fixtures in their homes with one that has earned the government’s ENERGY STAR label. This effort will help to prevent more than 6.1 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, and save more than four million kilowatts per hour in energy and more than $300,000 in energy costs.

“An increasing number of the nation’s counties are demonstrating a strong commitment to reduce energy consumption within their facilities,” said NACo Executive Director Larry E. Naake. “Counties are addressing known environmental concerns and serving as catalysts for energy consciousness throughout the communities they serve. We are appreciative of our partnership with Office Depot to promote energy efficiency in county governments.”

“Even small steps like changing incandescent bulbs to ones that have earned the government's ENERGY STAR label can help preserve our energy resources and environment,” said Hewan Tomlinson of EPA's ENERGY STAR Program. “We are delighted to work with partners like NACo in offering Americans common-sense energy efficiency solutions that lower energy bills while handing the next generation a better environment.”

The campaign was conducted in two phases – one for county employees and one for county residents. Winning counties were determined by the percentage of their employees or percentage of the county population taking the pledge and were categorized in small (population less than 50,000), medium (population 50,000 to 500,000) and large (population more than 500,000).

Office Depot is also a founding sponsor of NACo’s Green Government Initiative, which began in 2007.

For more information visit www.greencounties.org.

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 1,705 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.9 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $15.1 billion, and employs about 49,000 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 48 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. Press materials specific to Office Depot’s environmental initiatives are available at http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment.

About NACo

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public's understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org.