The Office Depot, Delray Beach, Fla., will open its first “green” store, which is pre-certified to meet environmental standards. The opening of the store in Austin, Texas, takes place today.
The store features energy-efficient lighting, solar panels and 50 active skylights that adjust with the path of the sun to provide natural light to 90 percent of the store. The features helped the store qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
In addition to lighting that’s 30 percent more efficient than conventional fixtures, the store’s steel decking and joists are made of 85 percent recycled metal. It also features water conservation fixtures inside and landscaping using water-efficient techniques. An in-store recycling center will promote reuse of ink and toner cartridges, rechargeable batteries and cell phone batteries.
“Office Depot has an environmental vision to increasingly buy green, be green and sell green,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Office Depots director of environmental strategy. “While we have already achieved dramatic reductions in carbon emissions from our existing facilities, this new store takes us to a completely new level of energy efficiency, carbon reduction and waste reduction.”
With 1,670 stores worldwide, Office Depot has annual sales of about $15.5 billion.
