Office Depot Releases 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced the release of its 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report. The Report, which highlights the Company’s commitment to business, ethics, diversity, environmental sustainability and community around the world for the 2009 calendar year, is available online at www.officedepot.com/corporatecitizenship.

“Our goal is that each one of Office Depot’s 41,000 associates around the globe exemplifies our commitment to corporate citizenship”

“Our goal is that each one of Office Depot’s 41,000 associates around the globe exemplifies our commitment to corporate citizenship,” said Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. “We are proud to highlight some of the real life stories behind our accomplishments – since it is each associate’s individual contribution that brings our Corporate Citizenship efforts to life.”

In line with the 2010 Report’s theme of “We All Contribute,” the document features numerous Office Depot associates from around the globe who have helped Office Depot Take Care of Business, People and the Planet. Some of the associates included are:

Cheryl Peetz, an Office Depot Store Manager in Redlands, CA, is profiled for turning her store’s annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfast into a community event that draws hundreds of teachers each year.
Kenichi Sugitani and Takeshi Ichinohe of Office Depot Japan are featured for unveiling a unique value-added green product: the Office Depot Original Dust Bag with Carbon Offset.
Zulema Ledesma Silva, Senior Analyst of Environmental Products in Boca Raton, FL, took over a new position in 2009 in which she is responsible for substantiating environmentally preferable product claims.
Mary Wong, President of the Office Depot Foundation, speaks to the Foundation’s mission and its celebration of donating more than two million backpacks globally since the program’s inception in 2001.
Jim Lilley, Head of Health, Safety and Welfare in the UK and Ireland, was responsible for employee engagement with the introduction of a new uniform recycling program in Europe in 2009.

Highlights from the 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report include:

Diversity: Office Depot published our inaugural Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Catalog, a first for any office supply retailer. The catalog features more than 1,400 products and 25 vendors defined as certified minority, women, disabled, veteran and small enterprises.
Ethics: In 2009, we replaced our Social Accountability Code of Conduct with the Supplier Guiding Principles, which offer a broader outline for social accountability, environmental practices and global supply chain security. The principles were also translated in multiple languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Spanish to enhance understanding in local markets.
Philanthropy: The Office Depot Foundation celebrated a milestone year in 2009 – donating its two millionth backpack, launching a major volunteer recruitment initiative and continuing to support a variety of programs that help to fulfill the organization’s mission to Listen Learn Care®.
Environment: In 2009, Office Depot successfully lowered its waste expenditures by $1 million; reduced Company electricity usage and expenses as well as its overall carbon footprint by 11%; and helped customers recycle 73% more material than last year. Further, for the first time the Office Depot report has included stated 2012 goals to increasingly buy green, be green and sell green.

Environmental data included in the 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report has been reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers – ensuring accuracy and transparency. Additionally, for the fourth consecutive year, the report references guidelines established by the Global Reporting Initiative, an organization which develops and disseminates globally applicable “Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.”

The 2010 Office Depot Corporate Citizenship Report is available in print as well as online at www.officedepot.com/corporatecitizenship.

To learn more about the products and services available at Office Depot, please visit your local Office Depot retail store location or www.officedepot.com. To become a fan of Office Depot on Facebook and receive exclusive content, offers and more, please visit www.facebook.com/officedepot. To follow Office Depot on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/officedepot.

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 1,598 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 53 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. Media looking to access digital assets and news, please visit http://socialpress.officedepot.com. For more information about Office Depot’s overall environmental initiatives, visit www.officedepot.com/environment.

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