Office Depot, Inc. : Office Depot Participates in the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual “Big Show”

Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot, Shares Expertise on "Global Environmental & Sustainability Trends"

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2012-- Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, participated in the National Retail Federation's (NRF) 101st Annual Retail's BIG Show, which took place January 15 - 18, 2012, in New York City. Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot, served as the retail industry expert at the Sustainable Retailing Consortium (SRC) Forum on Global Environmental & Sustainability Trends. The panel also featured representatives from the Clinton Global Initiative, 3M, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and ESE Solutions.

Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot Meets with Former President Bill Clinton at the National Retail Federation's Retail's BIG Show (Photo credit: National Retail Federation)

"It was an honor to speak on the sustainability panel at NRF's BIG Show, and to meet former President Bill Clinton, the show's Keynote speaker," Siddiqui said. "As retailers, we play a critical role of bridging the marketplace and the manufacturers, and as such, we can influence both sides to further the goals of sustainability."

During his presentation, Siddiqui touched on the growing expectations of transparency, the need to understand and manage lifecycle environmental footprints, and the importance of integrating green thinking into core retail functions. Examples from Office Depot's experience included Office Depot's annual environmental dashboard and the Company's GreenerOffice rating system, which was designed to help customers quickly find products with the level of environmental attributes and/or third party eco-labels that they seek.

Throughout the interactive discussion, Siddiqui and the other panelists shared their insights on waste management, energy management, climate change legislation, extended producer responsibility, global supply chain management, and other major environmental issues facing retailers. The panelists also provided information on how retailers can stay ahead of the changing regulatory climate by partnering with their suppliers, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations at all levels.

About Retail's BIG Show

NRF's Annual Convention & EXPO was nicknamed "Retail's BIG Show" many years ago and because the name was so appropriate, it stuck. Today, Retail's BIG Show is NRF's flagship industry event held annually in New York City. The four-day event offers unparalleled education, collegial networking, and an enormous EXPO Hall full of technologies and solutions. The was held in 2011, commemorating 100 years of industry leadership.

About Office Depot

Celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides supplies and services to its customers through 1,656 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.6 billion, and employs about 40,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office supplies and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 58 countries.

Source: Office Depot

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