Staples 2006 Annual Report Download - page 10

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Additionally, since 2005, Staples has donated $1 million annually to Boys & Girls Clubs of America from the
proceeds of our brand icon sales, the Staples® Easy Button®.
In 2006 Staples helped raise $6.2 million for City of Hope, a medical research and treatment facility dedicated to
the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Staples will continue to support City of
Hope with various fundraising activities in 2007.
In-Kind Donations
To empower Staples® stores, distribution centers and delivery fulfillment centers to make donations to local
charities of their choice, Staples offers the “We Care” gift card program. The “We Care” program, combined with
other donations of product and gift cards, has resulted in gifts exceeding $15.8 million since 2004.
DIVERSITY
In 2006, Staples continued to focus our diversity initiatives on developing our associates to promote diversity of
thought, reflect the face of our customer base, and foster a culture of inclusion, innovation and adaptability.
Diverse thoughts
In 2006, Staples brought together newly hired managers from around the world to our Framingham
headquarters, launching the new International Management Trainee Program. Associates identified as future
Staples leaders participated in 12 weeks of intensive training and a pioneering exchange of best practices and
innovation. Our first group of associates graduated from the program in early 2007. This year, Staples invested
significant resources in this program to better prepare associates for leadership roles across our organization. The
International Management Trainee Program will undoubtedly help transform Staples from a U.S. company that
operates internationally to a truly global company.
Diverse associates
Staples recognizes that competing in this diverse world today and tomorrow requires the continued attraction,
development and placement of talent from different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and genders. Through our
college recruiting initiatives and working with organizations such as Inroads, the National Association of Black
MBAs, the National Association of Hispanic MBAs, the Association of Latino Professionals in Financing and
Accounting, and more, we have continued to make progress in expanding the diversity of our associates. From
2004 to 2006, Staples increased the minority and female representation within senior management from 6% to
8% and from 27% to 31% respectively.
Diverse suppliers
Throughout the past year, we initiated a variety of actions to help strengthen the foundation and the future of
our Diversity Supplier Program. This program allows customers to easily buy products directly from diversity
suppliers that do business with Staples. Staples also attended and supported more than 25 supplier diversity
events, and the Staples Director of Diversity Initiatives was named to the Board of Directors of the Chicago
Minority Business Development Council (CMBDC).
Staples proudly accepted a number of diversity awards in 2006. After receiving an honorable mention in previous
years, Staples was ranked 42nd on the DiversityBusiness.com Top 50 Corporations for Multicultural Business
Opportunities list. Staples also received PNC Bank’s Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
Strategic Partnership Award and, for the second year in a row, New York Life’s Silver Prime Award for Supplier
Diversity.
ENVIRONMENT
Staples’ initiatives to help protect and sustain the earth take many forms, such as offering a wide assortment of
eco-friendly products, making recycling services accessible to our customers and associates, investing in energy
efficiency and renewable energy, and educating our customers and associates about how they can make a
difference.