Staples 2004 Annual Report Download - page 10

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green e-certified sources, including wind, landfill gas, biomass and small certified hydro.
Staples was named US Department of Energy Green Power Partner of the Year in 2004.
Working towards our 2005 goals, we will continue to reduce direct and indirect emissions.
Environmental Education
Staples was a sponsor of America Recycles Day for the fourth consecutive year in 2004, to
help raise awareness of the importance of recycling and buying recycled content products.
We sponsored a Business to Business Resource Page in partnership with Earth 911 and the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The site provides businesses with
local resources to help them operate more sustainably.
Staples Foundation for Learning sponsored a grant in 2004 to Earth Force, an organization
which provides teachers an innovative multi-disciplinary curriculum focused on
environmental education for middle school students.
Staples continues to improve content of environmental information on our website and
in-store signage, and promotes environmental stewardship through company sponsored
events. Additional environmental information and a complete 2004 Sustainability Report
can be found at www.staples.com/recycle.
BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Business Ethics
Our commitment to business ethics starts with our Code of Ethics. This is a set of guiding
principles that applies to all of our associates around the world, as well as members of
our Board of Directors. We implemented a Code of Ethics more than a decade ago, but in
2004 we made a renewed effort to build awareness of our standards and make it easier for
associates to do the right thing. We created a new role of Vice President, Business Ethics
to focus our efforts in this important area and make sure that business ethics is part of our
everyday culture.
Over the past year, we also created a new Supplier Code of Conduct. The Supplier Code
of Conduct formalizes our factory certification program, which has been in place for several
years. Under this program, we use a third party to audit new and existing factories
manufacturing Staples brand products to ensure they can meet our quality, social
responsibility, and security standards. We are committed to working with factories that can
provide and sustain fair and safe labor practices.