Office Depot

Office Depot Europe is committed to minimising the environmental impacts of our own operations, products and services.  

We hope that this Guide will provide you with a useful source of information to assist you in your journey to becoming a more sustainable business. Through this Guide, we hope to share our approach to sustainability with our customers and other stakeholders, along with case studies and examples of international best practice.  

This Guide sets out the drivers, benefits and challenges faced by organisations as they seek to achieve sustainability in today’s ever-changing world. It contains a wealth of information on sustainability issues, from global concerns such as climate change, to more specific aspects such as waste management, energy efficiency, materials use and transport.  

The Greener Office Guide is also intended to act as a roadmap, helping you to begin or assess your progress on the journey towards greater sustainability.

Introduction
This section provides you with guidance and advice to find your way to a greener office and ultimately, a more sustainable business. We have identified three main milestones on this journey: Green Starter, Green Implementer and Green Leader.  Each milestone builds on the one before, so progressing along the journey entails continually improving how you manage your environmental, and wider sustainability impacts. Our definitions of the three levels are set out below. Please keep in mind that these definitions are intended as a guide; they are not prescriptive and can be tailored to your own organisation. We hope that you will find them useful in assessing your progress on the journey, and in defining your ultimate goals. Later on in this section we provide guidance on how to progress, as we focus on specific environmental issues. 

When starting on your sustainability journey it is advisable to identify and prioritise the sustainability issues that are most relevant to your individual business and its impacts. All companies are different, with varying impacts and priorities. Even companies within the same sector are seldom the same. Remember also to consider the business opportunities presented by sustainability.

Green Starter
Green Starters are those organisations that are just beginning the sustainability journey. They are already complying with relevant national and European legislation. Green Starters understand the environmental impact of their own operations and are starting to address those issues that will present ‘quick wins’ in terms of both environmental and financial gain. They focus mainly on the environmental aspects of sustainability, for example resource use, waste minimisation and recycling and energy efficiency. Green Starters have started to implement an environmental management system supporting their strategy and policy and have allocated someone responsible for co-ordinating and managing environmental issues, perhaps supported by an informal network of ‘environmental champions’. Green Starter companies have identified their key stakeholders and are beginning to communicate their approach in a proactive way.

Introduction
This section provides you with guidance and advice to find your way to a greener office and ultimately, a more sustainable business.  We have identified three main milestones on this journey: Green Starter, Green Implementer and Green Leader.  Each milestone builds on the one before, so progressing along the journey entails continually improving how you manage your environmental, and wider sustainability impacts. Our definitions of the three levels are set out below.  Please keep in mind that these definitions are intended as a guide; they are not prescriptive and can be tailored to your own organisation.   We hope that you will find them useful in assessing your progress on the journey, and in defining your ultimate goals.   Later on in this section we provide guidance on how to progress, as we focus on specific environmental issues.  

When starting on your sustainability journey it is advisable to identify and prioritise the sustainability issues that are most relevant to your individual business and its impacts.  All companies are different, with varying impacts and priorities.  Even companies within the same sector are seldom the same.  Remember also to consider the business opportunities presented by sustainability.

Green Implementer
Green Implementers are moving beyond compliance and environmental management to addressing the wider sustainability agenda - those social and economic issues relevant to their business.  Green Implementers also understand that their operations have an impact, and, sustainability issues have an impact on their operations.  For example, a company’s energy use contributes to climate change, but potential climate change impacts such as flooding could have an effect on business operations.  Green Implementers have identified using their environmental quality management system their key impacts and risks, have set objectives and targets for continuous improvement, have identified baseline performance and Key Performance Indicators, and are reporting against these on a regular basis.  Green Implementers also recognise that they have impacts outside their own activities – in other words, outside their direct control.  They are therefore addressing sustainability in their supply chain, specifically in procurement of goods and services and in contracts with suppliers.  They also become involved in advocacy through partnership and collaboration with outside organisations.

Introduction
This section provides you with guidance and advice to find your way to a greener office and ultimately, a more sustainable business.  We have identified three main milestones on this journey: Green Starter, Green Implementer and Green Leader.  Each milestone builds on the one before, so progressing along the journey entails continually improving how you manage your environmental, and wider sustainability impacts. Our definitions of the three levels are set out below.  Please keep in mind that these definitions are intended as a guide; they are not prescriptive and can be tailored to your own organisation.   We hope that you will find them useful in assessing your progress on the journey, and in defining your ultimate goals.   Later on in this section we provide guidance on how to progress, as we focus on specific environmental issues.  

When starting on your sustainability journey it is advisable to identify and prioritise the sustainability issues that are most relevant to your individual business and its impacts.  All companies are different, with varying impacts and priorities.  Even companies within the same sector are seldom the same.  Remember also to consider the business opportunities presented by sustainability.

Green Leader
Green Leaders are embedding sustainability into their business strategy.  Companies at this stage have identified and prioritised their key risks, and are focusing on the business opportunities sustainability presents.  There is clear top-level ownership and leadership, for example a cross-functional (Governance) Board committee may be in place to drive sustainability within the business.  Green Leaders have also extended their ‘sphere of influence’ and are addressing sustainability throughout the value chain.  They are looking not just at the supply chain, but also at customers and end-users.  Green Leaders benchmark their performance with peers and other leaders and are committed to continual improvement and innovation.  They proactively communicate with stakeholders and invite feedback on their performance.

It is important to remember that achieving Green Leadership does not mean that the journey is at an end.  Evolving global issues (such as climate change), increasing stakeholder demands, social & ethical values and new business models will continue to present challenges in the years ahead. 

The sustainability journey is infinite.