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OFFICE DEPOT JOINS WITH CITY OF AUSTIN AND U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL TO CELEBRATE GROUNDBREAKING OF COMPANY’S FIRST “GREEN” STORE
Company to Be One of the First Retailers to Build LEED-Based Prototype Design; Austin Store Represents Model for Future Office Depot Stores in USGBC Portfolio Program
Delray Beach, Fla., February 19, 2008 – Office Depot® (NYSE: ODP), a leading global
provider of office products and services, today will join with City of Austin Mayor Will
Wynn, representatives from the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC) to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first Office Depot
“Green” store at 2320 Anderson Lane in Austin, TX.
Upon completion of the energy and resource-efficient store in Summer 2008, Office
Depot’s Anderson Lane location will be one of the first registered projects to certify within
USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Volume Certification
Program. This enables participants to integrate the LEED green building rating system
into new and existing buildings in their company’s portfolio. Office Depot is the only
office supply retailer participating in the program.
“Office Depot is extremely excited to celebrate the groundbreaking of our first ‘Green’
store,” said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail for Office Depot. “With a
retail chain of more than 1,200 locations, there are few chances for firsts. The
construction of our newest Austin, Texas, location represents our first green store and
we are very proud of this initiative. It is a shining example of how Office Depot is
committed to taking care of business and taking care of the planet.”
“The City of Austin and Office Depot have a strong partnership that goes back nearly two
decades,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “We are extremely proud that our city has been
chosen by Office Depot as the home for the global retailer’s first ‘green’ store. Office
Depot’s commitment to increasingly ‘be green’ will only assist Austin in meeting our own
goals to improve the city’s sustainability.”
Office Depot currently has 138 stores in Texas and eight stores in Austin. The Company
opened its first location in Austin 18 years ago and chose the environmentally conscious
city for its first green store partly because of Mayor Wynn’s Austin Climate Protection
Plan aimed at reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and making all city facilities,
fleets and operations carbon-neutral by 2020.
Office Depot is one of a select few companies using the Volume Certification process by
participating in USGBC’s Portfolio Program, a pilot program formed to help retail chains
achieve LEED-Certification at numerous locations and to facilitate the certification
process for a company’s prototype.
“Office Depot’s commitment to building green marks their leadership in the retail
community,” said Justin Doak, Manager of LEED for Retail at USGBC. “The impact that
buildings have on our environment is too often overlooked. Office Depot has
demonstrated leadership in the retail community as they incorporate sustainable
practices into their retail locations – not only in respect to their environmental footprint,
but for the well-being of their employees and customers who work and visit the space.
We are grateful to Office Depot and all of our other pilot participants for their help in the
development and refinement of this innovative program.”
The new Green store will integrate many green building design elements, including:
- Energy Reduction: T5 Energy-Efficient Lighting, high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air condition units and insulation, enhanced energy management
system, effective temperature controls, skylights and a reflective roof. Outside of the store, there will be a bicycle rack and map and designated parking for hybrid vehicles.
- Waste Reduction: Steel decking and joists made of 60 to 100% recycled steel and a 60% recycled concrete floor; Interior partitions composed of more than 95% recycled materials.
- Water Conservation: Water-efficient taps and flushes in the restroom.
- Green Products: Office Supplies, Technology and Furniture from Office Depot’s 4,000-plus assortment of products with green benefits such as recycled content, remanufactured components, energy efficiency and non-toxic chemical use.
- Green Services: Environmental solutions for Office Depot customers including Office Depot’s Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling Program, Tech Recycling Service and Cell Phone and Rechargeable Battery Recycling.
“Office Depot has an environmental vision to increasingly buy green, be green and sell
green,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Environmental Strategy Advisor for Office Depot. “By
becoming the first office supply retailer to “build green” using the LEED volume
certification program, we are once again setting a precedent for others in our industry to
follow.”
“The Austin Chamber is excited to have Office Depot’s first LEED-certified green retail
store located in Austin,” said Jose Beceiro, Director of Clean Energy for the Austin
Chamber of Commerce. “Office Depot’s commitment to energy conservation, energy
efficiency, and low environmental impact retail development matches up seamlessly with
Austin’s long-term strategy to become a leader in green building design, renewable
energy usage, and clean technology innovation. The Austin Chamber thanks Office
Depot for choosing Austin to kick-off their green retail store initiative, and looks forward
to a long-term partnership towards transforming Austin into the ‘Clean Energy Capital of
the World.’”
Office Depot’s partner on the project is SBLM Architects PC.
For more information on Office Depot’s environmental initiatives please visit:
http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment/factsheet.pdf. To view the Company’s
assortment of greener office products, visit www.officedepot.com/buygreen.
Press materials and information related to Office Depot’s commitment to the
environment and details on the Company’s first “Green” store are available at
http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment.
About Office Depot
Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more
countries than any other company.
Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual
sales of approximately $15.5 billion, and employs approximately 52,000 associates
around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or through affiliates
in 43 countries.
Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores and contract
delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of September 29, 2007, Office Depot had
1,212 retail stores in North America and another 384 stores, either company-owned,
licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of
customers through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct mail
offerings, and multiple web sites. With $4.8 billion in online sales during the last twelve
months, the Company is also one of the world’s largest e-commerce retailers.
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.
About USGBC
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is
a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes
corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit
organizations. Since UGSBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to include more
than 13,500 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED®
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating systems, an
expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International
Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 72 local chapters,
affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org. The LEED
Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of
sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and
implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.
SBLM Architects PC
SBLM Architects PC is committed to achieving the goals of sustainable architecture –
Green buildings. As a Member of the U.S. Green Building Council, SBLM’s LEED
certified professionals work to ensure that this focus continues to be part of
the designer's intention in every facility we work on. Our work includes new buildings,
additions, renovations, adaptive re-use and restoration projects.
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