Company Profiles

Staples

United States

Staples is one of the world's largest office products companies, selling office supplies, furniture, and technology products. The company has achieved an average of 30% recycled content in its paper products, far ahead of its biggest rival. Staples is participating in the Paper Working Group, which is developing an impressive tool for the environmental evaluation of paper products, and aims to make environmentally preferable paper products more accessible and affordable. The company offers recycling programs for a variety of products it retails and is a Plug into eCycling partner to increase electronics recycling. The company also recognizes its global warming impact. It is running internal initiatives to reduce energy use and support renewable power, as well as participating in several external groups. In the past, Portfolio 21 has suggested that Staples improve its environmental reporting and we are pleased to see the company has made progress in this area by beginning to use the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. As Staples continues to grow its retail footprint, Portfolio 21 encourages the company to report details of green building techniques used in its store design and construction, as well as gain ISO 14001 certification of the company's environmental management system.

To the best of our knowledge the above information is accurate and was obtained from sources we believe to be reliable. Neither the information presented above nor any opinion expressed shall be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy the security. The views expressed are those of portfolio management as of 1/31/07 and may not reflect current opinions or subsequent events.