Today, OfficeMax released a new environmental paper policy which will help to reduce the company’s impact on forests and further bolster the recycled paper industry. The company now joins its competitors, Office Depot and Staples, with standing environmental policies.
To read the Dogwood Alliance Press Release about the OfficeMax policy, check out our pressroom by clicking here.
The adoption of a policy by OfficeMax could not have been achieved without your support, from the thousands of postcards and emails you sent to the company to the time spent out in front of OfficeMax stores to your financial contributions which provided us with the resources we needed to continue the fight. Thank you!
Though OfficeMax has notified its suppliers about its concerns related to the Cumberland Plateau and Canadian Boreal, they have not taken concrete action to protect these areas of concern. Click here to send an email to Sue Mills, Director of Environmental Practices and ask her to ensure the company takes immediate action to leverage on the ground protection for endangered Southern forests like the Cumberland Plateau.
In less than a decade, the office supply sector has now transitioned from one of the most environmentally destructive industries to one that has begun to challenge the world’s largest paper companies to improve their forestry practices. We expect OfficeMax to uphold this standard and work with its suppliers to change their forestry practices.
We will continue to work with the company to ensure that it follows through on its commitment. Thank you once again for supporting us in our work to defend and protect the magnificent forests of the Southern US.
Company Joins Competitors in Commitment to Reduce Environmental Impact; Comprehensive Report Detailing Environmental Progress within Office Supply Industry to Be Released Within the Year
Asheville, NC – Today, OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) released a new environmental paper policy which will reduce the company’s impact on forests and further bolster the recycled paper industry. This commitment caps a seven-year effort by environmental groups led by Dogwood Alliance and ForestEthics to green the office supply industry. In less than a decade, the office supply sector has now transitioned from one of the most environmentally destructive industries to one that has begun to challenge the world’s largest paper companies to improve their forestry practices.
The first target of the campaign, Staples (NasdaqGS: SPLS), announced a policy in 2002 which has resulted in the company dramatically increasing the amount of recycled paper products they sell and becoming an industry-wide leader on global climate issues. Their commitment was followed in 2004 by a similar one by Office Depot (NYSE: ODP). Office Depot has also dramatically increased the amount of recycled paper products it sells and planned an important initiative to protect the endangered forests of the Cumberland Plateau. And now, OfficeMax has made a step toward environmental leadership with its new policy.
“After seven years, the largest paper retailers in the office supply sector have made the shift from an environmental nightmare toward environmental responsibility,” said Andrew Goldberg, lead negotiator on the campaign from Dogwood Alliance. “Today OfficeMax grabs a seat at the table and we look forward to working with the company to create real on the ground change.”
Though OfficeMax has publicly stated its intention to work with its suppliers to protect the endangered forests of the Cumberland Plateau, it has failed to take action thus far. The majestic hardwoods of the Cumberland Plateau represent some of the most important intact endangered forests in North America. Companies including Bowater (NYSE: BOW) and Office Depot has initiated efforts to save this hotspot of biodiversity.
“Over the last ten years, our organization has joined countless concerned citizens in the fight to protect the forests of the Cumberland Plateau from the ravages of industrial forestry,” said Danna Smith, Policy Director at Dogwood Alliance. “We expect OfficeMax to prove that action speaks louder than words by instituting real on the ground protection for the forests of our region.”
OfficeMax has also yet to take action to protect North America’s Great Boreal forest, which is one of the best natural lines of defense against global warming and is being mowed down to make paper, much of it used by U.S.-based companies.
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To view the new OfficeMax environmental paper policy, please visit: http://about.officemax.com/html/officemax_environmental_policy.shtml
Dogwood Alliance is the only organization in the South holding corporations accountable for the impact of their industrial forestry practices on our forests and our communities. To learn more, visit: http://www.dogwoodalliance.org
We all love forests. Today, forest protection advocates at Dogwood Alliance shined a spotlight on health and beauty products that are traditionally associated with Valentine’s Day and asked industry giants Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Revlon to love forests too and reduce their excessive paper packaging.
Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and Revlon are three of the biggest
health and beauty companies using excessive packaging originating from
Southern forests—forests with more types of plants and animals to love
than almost anywhere in the world. Excessive packaging of beauty
products is just plain ugly, and destructive too.
Dogwood Alliance called on Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and Revlon to
reduce the amount of paper in packaging, increase post-consumer
recycled fiber used in packaging, and ensure that their paper products
are not coming from endangered forests.
The message is simple – forests shouldn’t be chopped down, chipped up,
made into packaging and tossed in the landfill. There are simple
solutions that can transform the packaging industry.
To learn more about the issue, visit the Dogwood Alliance website .
To send your own message to Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Revlon, go here.
More information is available on the Dogwood Alliance blog .
Words of wisdom from Rachel, 11 years old
Forests are important because trees give off the oxygen that we breathe. If people keep on cutting down more and more trees, then we won’t have any left. And if we don’t have any left, then we won’t be able to breathe, and we can’t live without oxygen. Using recycled paper and recycling or reusing all the scrap paper that we have can help to save the trees that will save us. So, even though it might seem like making more paper is good, at the same time, it’s bad because it is killing trees. So, if you use recycled paper, you are saving trees and yourself and other people around you.
Companies should use less packaging because using more new packaging means cutting down more trees. And cutting down more trees is bad for the environment. Many stores now over package way too many things like toys, house decorations, and technical equipment. If companies would use less bags and boxes and wrappings, then they would be helping to save plants and many animals that live in these plants. That is why I think that protesting for more recycled paper and less new paper is good for people and the environment.
Rachel, 11 years oldThe Learning Community SchoolBrade 6
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