Delray Beach, FL - Office Depot, a leading global provider of office products and services, last week joined with City of Austin Mayor Will Wynn, representatives from the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first Office Depot "Green" store at 2320 Anderson Lane in Austin, TX.
Upon completion of the energy and resource-efficient store in Summer 2008, Office Depot's Anderson Lane location will be one of the first registered projects to certify within USGBC's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Volume Certification Program. This enables participants to integrate the LEED green building rating system into new and existing buildings in their company's portfolio. Office Depot is the only office supply retailer participating in the program.
"Office Depot is extremely excited to celebrate the groundbreaking of our first ‘Green' store," said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail for Office Depot. "With a retail chain of more than 1,200 locations, there are few chances for firsts. The construction of our newest Austin, TX, location represents our first green store and we are very proud of this initiative. It is a shining example of how Office Depot is committed to taking care of business and taking care of the planet."
"The City of Austin and Office Depot have a strong partnership that goes back nearly two decades," said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. "We are extremely proud that our city has been chosen by Office Depot as the home for the global retailer's first ‘green' store. Office Depot's commitment to increasingly ‘be green' will only assist Austin in meeting our own goals to improve the city's sustainability."
Office Depot currently has 138 stores in Texas and eight stores in Austin. The Company opened its first location in Austin 18 years ago and chose the environmentally conscious city for its first green store partly because of Mayor Wynn's Austin Climate Protection Plan aimed at reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions and making all city facilities, fleets, and operations carbon-neutral by 2020.
The new Green store will integrate many green building design elements, including:
·Energy Reduction: T5 Energy-Efficient Lighting, high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air condition units and insulation, enhanced energy management system, effective temperature controls, skylights, and a reflective roof. Outside of the store, there will be a bicycle rack and map and designated parking for hybrid vehicles.
·Waste Reduction: Steel decking and joists made of 60 to 100% recycled steel and a 60% recycled concrete floor; Interior partitions composed of more than 95% recycled materials.
·Water Conservation: Water-efficient taps and flushes in the restroom.
·Green Products: Office Supplies, Technology and Furniture from Office Depot's 4,000-plus assortment of products with green benefits such as recycled content, remanufactured components, energy efficiency, and non-toxic chemical use.
·Green Services: Environmental solutions for Office Depot customers including Office Depot's Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling Program, Tech Recycling Service, and Cell Phone and Rechargeable Battery Recycling.
"Office Depot has an environmental vision to increasingly buy green, be green and sell green," said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Environmental Strategy Advisor for Office Depot. "By becoming the first office supply retailer to "build green" using the LEED volume certification program, we are once again setting a precedent for others in our industry to follow."
