2013 Corporate Responsibility Report

Sustainable Products
For years, Staples has worked with suppliers to advance and improve our offerings
of greener Own brand and name-brand products. Across our entire assortment,
we seek to offer products that meet our customers’ core requirements for quality,
features and value while delivering reduced environmental and social impacts.
We work with suppliers, such as HP, Domtar, International Paper, Epson, Avery
Dennison, 3M, Apple and our own Staples Brands Group have invested in
sustainable product development to bring more greener products to market.
In stores and online, Staples offers customers more than 10,000 eco-conscious
products, including items that meet some of the most stringent environmental
standards like Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper products,
Green Seal certified cleaners, and ENERGY STAR ® certified technology.
Our Easy on the Planet site has more information about our assortment,
and tools and tips for customers shopping for environmental products.
Our U.S. sales of products with one or more environmental features were $2.98
billion in 2013, or 22% of total U.S. product sales. Meanwhile, U.S. sales of
products meeting our criteria for more advanced environmental features were
$1.97 billion, or 14.5% of total sales. In fact, sales of advanced environmental
products increased 20% from 2012 to 2013 in the U.S. driven in part by our
increased assortment of FSC-certified papers, greener Own brand products,
and ENERGY STAR technology products. Globally, sales of products with
advanced environmental features were more than $3.25 billion in 2013.
Collaborating to advance product sustainability
Staples has been supporting independent research to advance our work
with Own brand and name-brand suppliers on sustainable products.
The Staples Sustainable Innovation Laboratory (SSIL) within the Golisano
Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
opened in 2012 with a donation from Staples. The mission of the SSIL is
to serve as a high-impact research, outreach, training and education hub
that accelerates the deployment of innovative and sustainable business
practices. The SSIL is conducting research in various areas, including:
• Improving the design of office furniture to reduce the environmental impact
• Uncovering opportunities for extending remanufacturing cycles for toner
• Evaluating and mitigating common sources of indoor
air pollution in the office environment
• Understanding the most important contributors to environmental
impact across common physical workplaces
Vision
Offer our customers only
sustainable choices.
Long-Term Goals
Continue to improve sourcing,
identification and promotion of
greener products to customers.
Reduce the use of outbound
packagingmaterials in the
United States before 20% by
2020 from a 2011 baseline.
Staples 2013 Corporate Responsibility Report
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