HP teamed up with Office Depot to launch the “Office Go Green” partnership program, which aims to underscore the concept of making the best use of natural resources, minimizing use of consumables and promoting product recycling among consumers, while educating them on proper use of products for specific tasks.
Mr. Vatsun Thirapatarapong, General Manager of Imaging & Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand) Ltd., remarked “As the leader in printing business, HP has been in the forefront of IT companies by placing high emphasis on operating the business with social responsibility and environmental consciousness. This commitment has been implemented in the creation of technology, transportation, recycling of products and proper decomposition under the “HP Planet Partners” program, which has been carried out for eight consecutive years in Thailand. Previous activities under the program focused on customer involvement, enterprise group in particular, with a goal to raise awareness and encourage involvement among them. These activities include dam construction corals and growing plants, check and underwater garbage collecting etc.”
In a bid to replicate the success of activities to general consumer level, this year HP joins force with “Office Depot” to launch the program “Office Go Green”, which aims to curb negative impacts to the environment through the reduced use of consumables and energy, while promoting product recycling. Activities will be publicized via Office Depot branches nationwide. They include staging a road show to educate consumers on selecting the right products for specific tasks, by focusing on products that are easy to use with energy saving properties, as well as providing information on authentic ink products, which offers superior quality, while minimizing environmental impacts. Customers of authentic HP Original Toner can also return their used product to marked boxes for recycling located at Office Depot branches. The used cartridges will be supplied to HP Planet Partners for further processing and recycling. The initiative started from May and received favourable feedback from customers with more than 6,000 ink cartridges returned in just one month period.
In the second phase of the program, HP aims to reach out to other printers, including office based ones such as HP LaserJet M1212nf and CP1525n apart from toner ink, which is the main part of program. Plus, loyalty programs for Office Depot customers have been launched, as well as consistent road show activities at 33 Office Depot branches nationwide.
Mr. Somchai Tawonrungroaj, Managing Director of Office Club (Thai) Co., Ltd., the operator of “Office Depot” – Thailand’s No.1 Office Solution Retail Stores has put in place a policy to minimize impacts to the environment. As several office supplies are consumables, the unmanaged use of them will lead to an accumulated amount of waste. Previously, Office Depot initiated a program called ‘Recycle Paper for Trees” under a collaboration with the Media Center for Development Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the campaign which promotes paper sorting and compiling used paper from offices for further recycling to reduce paper waste. We have set up paper donation boxes in the Greater Bangkok areas to gather used paper for recycling. The program has gained positive feedbacks from our clients. Meanwhile, this recent partnership with HP will allow our clients to take part in the campaign for a greener environment, and to learn about proper usage of products for specific tasks in an environmentally friendly way.”
“The collaboration with Office Depot is a partnership program we prioritized. We have formed partnerships with several parties to carry out a series of activities and programs based on the belief that joint effort will lead to greater outcomes. Collaboration with Office Depot, our trusted partner and a leader in office supplies and stationery with broad range of customer, ranging from business organizations to general consumers and nationwide branches, will contribute to the wider coverage of the Office Go Green program and make it possible to achieve prime objectives of reducing the use of consumables and energy as well as recycling,” concluded Mr. Vatsun concluded.
About HP Planet Partners Program
The HP Planet Partners Program is a global initiate to demonstrate HP strong commitment to the environment, entailing the reuse and recycling of products. The program is currently available in more than 40 countries, territories, including Thailand. The program provides easy ways to return used HP Ink cartridges to be recycled to a wide range of materials, including pots, card holders, rulers, toys, buttons, eyeglass frames, vehicle component materials, etc. HP has consistently monitored, verified and reviewed recycling processes done internally and externally by contractors to ensure that the whole processes have hold high stand. In Thailand, the program has been carried out for 8 years with more than 300 partnerships organizations and rising number of ink cartridge returned each year. HP Thailand has annual capacity of compiling ink cartridge and toners for 600,000 pieces. HP also launched quarterly activities including corals and plants growing, check dam construction and underwater garbage collecting through collaboration with customers, aimed to raise awareness on environment and support involvement, etc.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
About Office Depot
Office Depot is the largest and most successful office supply “category killer” in North America. Central Retail Corporation’s licensee in Thailand
capitalizes on the proven success formula in OfficeDepot’s home market by implementing a three-channel distribution plan comprising of stores, telemarketing/direct sales and e-commerce via www.officedepot.co.th