Staples 2012 Annual Report Download - page 7

while Contract Marketing organization is helping a local woman owned marketing
consulting firm get to the next level of growth.
Staples Treasury continued to utilize a minority-owned securities firm for the
implementation of our share repurchasing program.
In 2012 Staples Australia launched our second Reconciliation Action Plan and our
Indigenous Employment Strategy. The strategy is about finding and creating opportunities
to introduce Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into real vacancies and
encourages applications for genuine permanent positions.
ENVIRONMENT
At Staples, our vision is to generate business and environmental benefits ² for ourselves, our
customers and our communities ² by leading the way in sustainable business practices.
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products; improving our offering of recycling and other green services; maximizing our energy
efficiency and renewable energy use to reduce our climate impacts; and eliminating waste.
In 2012, we continued to make progress towards our global sustainability goals. Highlights of
contributing accomplishments include:
Globally, we offer more than 10,000 products and counting with environmental attributes in
RXUVWRUHVDQGRQOLQH6WDSOHV¶RZQHFR-conscious product line²Sustainable Earth
Brand²was launched across Europe and in Australia in 2012.
In North America, we recycled nearly 75 million ink and toner cartridges, and more than 19
million pounds of technology waste, for our customers. In 2012, Staples Advantage and
Staples Business Delivery in Canada expanded its customer recycling program in select
provinces to include technology recycling.
We are actively rolling out right-size packaging technology in the US and Europe. In the
US, the Smart-size technology has been launched at 50% of our distribution centers, and
reduces average cardboard use by more than 15% and air pillow use by 60%. In Europe,
we have 12 active Jivaro machines across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain,
Sweden and the UK.
In the US, we sourced more than 75% of our electricity from renewable sources last year,
and increased our renewable electricity credit and direct renewable power purchases to
100% for 2013 (636,000,000 kWh). To date, 34 of our US locations host solar power
arrays, which produced nearly 15 million of kWh of renewable power in 2012. In 2012,
Staples UK completed a brand new solar panel installation at its Corby Distribution Centre.
At the end of 2012, we had 513 Energy Star qualified facilities in the US, easily surpassing
our goal to attain 500 by the end of the year. These facilities use 35% less energy than
non-qualified facilities.
Staples has obtained ISO14001 certification in China, adding to existing certifications across
Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK. We now have 107 facilities with certified
environmental management systems.
In the US, we had 53 all-electric trucks making deliveries to our customers. The use of
these trucks eliminated the use of more than 37,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and more than
400 tons of on-road carbon emissions. Additionally, Staples UK has formed a partnership