Staples Business Advantage Announces Furniture Recycling Initiatives to Celebrate Earth Week

Offers Eco-Friendly Services Including Tech Recycling and Green Products to Help Businesses Become More Environmentally Responsible

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--()--In an effort to help businesses be more sustainable, Staples Business Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc., today announced it is teaming up with Davies Office and IRN to offer customers the ability to reuse and recycle office furniture.

Davies Office is a leading provider of high quality remanufactured office furniture solutions, taking older furniture assets and transforming them to look and perform just like brand new furniture, at a fraction of the cost. Staples Business Advantage customers will now be able to capitalize on innovative product banking and exchange programs and source high quality remanufactured furniture instead of keeping their old assets in storage or sending them to a landfill. The benefits include updating office workplaces cost effectively, earning credit toward green building standards like LEED, and receiving detailed reporting quantifying the environmental benefits.

Staples Business Advantage is also launching a new initiative with IRN to support businesses’ sustainability goals. IRN works with a variety of organizations including universities, public and independent schools, healthcare corporations and government agencies to place their surplus furniture assets for reuse. It then matches those assets with U.S. and worldwide charities to find the best use for them socially and environmentally, at a cost that is less than throwing the assets away.

“It’s critical that we rethink our approach to sustainability in workplaces,” said Mark Buckley, vice president, environmental affairs, Staples, Inc. “Supporting furniture remanufacturing and reuse helps our customers’ bottom line and the planet. Combined with our comprehensive recycling programs and eco-friendly cleaning solutions, Staples Business Advantage has the solutions our customers need to support greener and healthier buildings.”

In addition to these new initiatives, Staples offers many services to help businesses make more sustainable business practices happen, including:

Tech Recycling
Businesses and other organizations of all sizes can recycle old electronics through Staples Business Advantage’s technology recycling service powered by Electronic Recyclers International, Inc. (ERI).

The program allows businesses to recycle old electronics such as computers, cell phones, keyboards, telecom equipment, and multi-function devices in three easy steps:
1. Order recycling boxes online.
2. Fill boxes with electronics and ship back to Staples using the provided return label.
3. Receive a Certificate of Recycling from Staples that their electronics have been properly recycled and data were safely removed. ERI facilities are certified to the e-Stewards standard, a rigorous certification program supporting the responsible recycling of electronic wastes.

Staples Business Advantage also offers battery and lamp recycling programs and even zero-waste box solutions by Terracycle, while Staples stores offer free in-store technology and rechargeable battery recycling for businesses and consumers.

For customers with more stringent standards, Staples Business Advantage can also create custom programs that satisfy each organization’s sustainability.

Ink and Toner Recycling
With Staples’ ink and toner recycling program, customers can mail in or arrange for Staples to pick up and properly dispose of any used ink and toner cartridges. All cartridges are remanufactured or recycled. The remanufactured toner process can reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent compared to manufacturing a new cartridge. Cartridges that cannot be remanufactured are broken down to recycle the plastics and the metals for use in new products.

Sustainable Facility Solutions
Staples Business Advantage offers a Facility Assessment quiz as well as site visits to help customers reduce costs. Staples Business Advantage’s facility experts can also work with facility managers to design a green cleaning program using safe and high performance cleaners like the Sustainable Earth by Staples line of products for businesses, including soaps, paper towels, bath tissue, and glass cleaner, that are both environmentally friendly and cost effective.

Resources:

  • Follow Staples on Twitter @Staples and Staples Business Advantage @StaplesB2B to learn more.

About Staples, Inc.

Staples retail stores and Staples.com help small business customers make more happen by providing a broad assortment of products, expanded business services and easy ways to shop, all backed with a lowest price guarantee. Staples offers businesses the convenience to shop and buy how and when they want - in store, online, via mobile or though social apps. Staples.com customers can either buy online and pick-up in store or ship for free from Staples.com with Staples Rewards minimum purchase. Expanded services also make it easy for businesses to succeed with in-store Business Centers featuring shipping services and products, copying, scanning, faxing and computer work stations, Tech Services, full-service Print & Marketing Services, Staples Merchant Services, small business lending and credit services.

Staples Business Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc., helps mid-market, commercial and enterprise-sized customers make more happen by offering a curated assortment of products and services combined with deep expertise, best-in-class customer service, competitive pricing and state-of-the art ecommerce site. Staples Business Advantage is the one-source solution for all things businesses need to succeed, including office supplies, facilities cleaning and maintenance, breakroom snacks and beverages, technology, furniture solutions, interior design and Print & Marketing Services. Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples, Inc. operates throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. More information about Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com.

Contacts

Staples, Inc.
Shweta Agarwal, 508-253-8249
shweta.agarwal@staples.com

Contacts

Staples, Inc.
Shweta Agarwal, 508-253-8249
shweta.agarwal@staples.com