Costco 2007 Annual Report Download - page 15

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Recycling Waste reduction and management have always been a focus at Costco. Since the 1980’s
we have used a comprehensive recycling program in our operations. Cardboard boxes, for example,
are used to ship merchandise as well as display merchandise. Later, members use the empty
cardboard boxes to carry home their purchases, and any cardboard left over is compacted, baled and
sold to recycling centers.
Refurbishing reusable electronic items is another program of recycling in use at Costco. During fiscal
year 2007 our Electronic Hardware Services (EHS) and Consumer Electronics (CE) Department
refurbished for resale over 100,000 returned computers and PDA’s and nearly 200,000 other returned
electronic items (cameras, IPODS, cam recorders and televisions). By recycling, refurbishing and
keeping renewable materials out of landfills and incinerators, Costco has found a revenue stream by
giving value to materials once considered trash while benefiting our bottom line.
Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL) Bulbs We have been an active member of the EPA’s Energy Star
and Climate Protection Partnerships for the past five years, and we are also a major retailer of Energy
Star qualified CFL bulbs. Our sales of CFL bulbs in the U.S. increased to more than 28 million bulbs
during fiscal 2007, compared to 17 million CFL bulbs sold in fiscal 2006.
Packaging Our merchandise packaging is also becoming more environmentally sustainable. For
example, we are in the process of replacing plastic clamshell packaging with paperboard-blister hybrid
packaging. This new “board and blister” packaging is comprised of printed paperboard and RPET
(recycled PET) plastic.
Commuting We continue to encourage our employees to carpool or vanpool whenever practical—to
reduce energy consumption, as well as reduce emissions going into the atmosphere. The Commute
Trip Reduction (CTR) program we began thirteen years ago at our corporate office with eighteen vans
now has sixty-five vans, up from fifty-two vans a year ago (vans, fuel, maintenance and insurance
provided by five transit agencies). We offer employees subsidies to vanpool, and we also subsidize
employees who purchase monthly bus passes. In addition, we encourage employees to ride bikes to
work when practical. All of these programs and activities help to reduce our carbon footprint.
Available Information
We maintain an internet website at www.costco.com. We make available through the Investor
Relations section of our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements and Forms 3, 4 and 5, and any
amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material with, or
furnishing such documents to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The information found
on our website is not part of this or any other report filed with or furnished to the SEC.
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