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March 5, 2007
Going Green with Office Depot
Many in the general public might not think of retail executives as proponents of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which warns of the dangers of global warming. But Erich Landis says that the industry is doing much more than others in raising environmental awareness. “The leaders in retail have really driven this issue to the forefront,” says the director of new initiatives at the Cadence Network, a Cincinnati firm that helps companies manage their energy usage. Cadence recently assisted Office Depot in purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) that will reportedly make 12% of the power the retailer uses environmentally friendly. Management at the 1,150-store office-supplies chain contends that it has made protecting the environment a priority for years. The company has invested $20 million in making its stores more energy efficient through lighting innovations, roof-cooling technologies and other initiatives. It also now sells 4,000 products in its stores with recycled content, up from 1,200 in 2002, says Yalmaz Siddiqui, Office Depot’s strategic environmental advisor. Siddiqui recently spoke with GSR about why and how his company strives for environmental protection.
GSR: What was the evolution that led to Office Depot’s current environmental initiatives?
Siddiqui: We’ve always been a pretty big supplier of recycled paper, years before there was an environmental director in place. There was a spotlight a couple of years ago when we were called out because maybe our company wasn’t doing enough in terms of recycled paper. We decided to respond to that criticism that we weren’t doing enough not only by addressing some specific groups’ concerns, but by making it much broader. We converted this into a strategic initiative where we’re covering a wide range of environmental areas and finding business benefits, both in terms of differentiation for our customers and cost reduction. If you want to map it out, it was reaction, in some respects to criticism. But it was also a conversion to a proactive approach. Now, it’s more of an integration of this type of thinking into various parts of our business.
GSR: Why is the EPA’s recognition important?
Siddiqui: It’s significant because you’ve got an independent body that is very well recognized telling the world that what companies are doing is proactive and positive. It’s one thing to tout your own horn and say, “Look at all the stuff we’re doing.” It’s another to have a third party, whether they’re government or an association or customers, recognize those practices.
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