Greener Purchasing Policy for Paper Products

Vision

Office Depot has an overall environmental policy to buy greener, be greener and sell greener. In the “buy greener” part of this policy we are committed to sourcing, using and selling paper products that reduce our impact on the world’s forests. We published our first Environmental Paper Policy in 2004, revised it in 2013, and this policy updates and replaces the earlier versions. This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis. We remain committed to using recycled fiber, supporting responsible forestry certification, increasing supply chain transparency and growing markets for greener paper products. We continue to avoid paper products from: illegal sources; forests being actively converted to non-forest use; High Conservation Value forests (unless Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified or progressing to FSC); genetically modified or engineered treesi ; or forests where harvesting is documented to negatively impact human rights or labor rights.

Rationale

This is a critical policy for Office Depot since paper represents our most significant and visible environmental impact. Many of our customers have responsible paper policies and they want suppliers such as Office Depot to provide responsibly sourced paper, minimize risks in their supply chain, and help them pursue continuous improvement in their environmental programs. Office Depot is also dedicated to continuous improvement and engages customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in implementing this policy.

Scope

Our scope includes office copy paper and marketing paper purchased or sold by Office Depot.

Environmental Specifications

Office Depot Associates will avoid buying paper products with specifications that fall under the ‘Required Exclusions’ listed below:

1. Required Exclusions: Office Depot will not buy paper products with these specifications:

  • Bleached with elemental chlorine
  • From unknown sources
    • ​A supplier cannot/is unwilling to disclose the original forest source (country and region) prior to purchase
    • The integrity of the supplier, or the legality of their fiber is in doubt
    • The integrity of the supplier’s documentation or certification is in doubt 
  • ​From unwanted sources not covered by an FSC Controlled Wood risk assessment or FSC certification:
    • ​From High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) as defined in the HCVF Global Toolkit
    • From illegally-logged sources, or regions where there is a high degree of suspected illegal logging
    • From natural forests being actively converted to non-forest use
    • From genetically modified or engineered trees
    • Where harvesting or processing is documented to negatively impact human rights or labor rights​
  • From high risk suppliers or regions associated with unknown or unwanted sources listed above.

​Office Depot Associates should ensure that the ‘Minimum Requirements’ / Pre-requisites listed below are met.

2. Minimum Requirements/Pre-requisites: The following specifications are minimum requirements/pre-requisites:

  • Virgin fiber certified under one or more of these forest certification schemes
    • American Tree Farm System (ATFS)
    • FSC controlled wood
    • Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
    • PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification) and other standards accepted by PEFC
  • ​If certified as above, Chain of Custody certificates for fiber will need to be provided or evidence of compliance with certified sourcing programs
  • ​If not certified as above, documented to be legal and traceable to an original forest source that is not high risk (unwanted/unknown/high risk suppliers), and legal origin can be verified prior to purchase with credible documents.
  • If a recycled content claim is made, the minimum requirement is 10% post-consumer recycled or 20% total recycled content for most of the world. 
  • Recycled percentage claim verified by credible third party, or at minimum with a signed Vendor Certification Letter.
  • Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), or if possible Enhanced Elemental Chlorine Free (EECF), Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Total Chlorine Free (TCF) bleaching

​After Required Exclusions & Minimum Requirements are met, Associates should maximize sourcing of greener papers, from our ‘light green’ to ‘mid green’ to ‘dark green' specifications as quickly as feasible.

3. Office Depot ‘Light Green’ Specification:

  • FSC Mix Sources (with 0% postconsumer recycled content), or
  • Contains 10%-29% postconsumer recycled content
  • Recycled percentage claim verified by credible third party, or at minimum with a signed Vendor Certification Letter
  • For papers with recycled content, remaining virgin fiber from FSC certified sources preferred

​4. Office Depot ‘Mid Green’ Specification:

  • Contains 30%-89% post-consumer recycled content
  • Recycled percentage claim verified by credible third party, or at minimum with a signed Vendor Certification Letter.
  • Remaining virgin fiber from FSC certified sources preferred
  • Made with 30% - 100% agricultural / plant-based fibers e.g. sugarcane bagasse, bamboo, kenaf or wheat straw but without evidence of sustainable agriculture e.g. USDA Organic or FSC or Rainforest Alliance certification
  • If made with agricultural / plant-based fibers, non-food fibers and agricultural waste preferred

​5. Office Depot ‘Dark Green’ Specification:

  • Contains 90% - 100% post-consumer recycled content
  • Recycled percentage claim verified by credible third party, or at minimum with a signed Vendor Certification Letter
  • Remaining virgin fiber from FSC certified sources preferred
  • Made with 70% - 100% agricultural / plant-based fibers e.g. sugarcane bagasse, bamboo, kenaf or wheat straw and with evidence of sustainable agriculture e.g. USDA Organic or FSC or Rainforest Alliance certification
  • If made with agricultural / plant-based fibers, non-food fibers and agricultural waste preferred

​Implementation Procedures & Training

Guidance on implementation procedures is provided during training sessions scheduled for Office Depot Associates and vendors.