A similar, though slightly less extensive, dashboard presents data for European operations: this has 43 metrics, with continent-wide data for 2011 and 2012, and a breakdown by country.
Where the report is lacking is in an explanation of results: barely any of the notable increases or decreases are explained. The report’s narrative is limited mostly to picture-heavy tables summarizing major achievements over the past decade.
Energy
Office Depot’s energy intensity fell 3 percent last year, from 11.94 to 11.6 kWh per square foot. The company’s square footage of buildlings leased or owned has formed a rough bell curve, rising every year from 2003 to 2008 and falling nearly every year since then, so today at 34.9 million sq ft, it stands almost as low as the level of ten years ago.
The company says the major energy efficiency lesson it’s learned is “the boring stuff works. Lighting, HVAC, energy management systems may not be sexy, but they save.”
The company’s most dramatic energy reduction was in natural gas and propane, which fell 27 percent last year alone, from 338,000 mmBTU to 245,800 mmBTU. Consumption of this fuel type is down 35 percent versus 2008 and also versus 2003. The company’s natural gas spending fell accordingly in the past year, from $3.1 million to $2.2 million.
Electricity use fell by a more modest 7 percent in the past year, from 433,000 MWh to 403,900 MWh, but the absolute savings in electricity was greater than for natural gas: the company spent $42 million on electricity last year, compared to $46.6 million in 2011.
Water
Office Depot’s metered water footprint fell by 17 percent last year, from 182.7 million gallons in 2011 to 150.9 million in 2012. Last year is the only year for which the company provides a water intensity figure, of 6.02 gallons per sq ft. The company says it has restated its water intensity figure to include both metered water usage, and estimated water and sewage use for facilities that do not have actual data.
The company’s spending on water rose from $2.44 million in 2011 to $2.5 million in 2012.
Waste
Last year the company’s waste intensity per square foot rose by 10 percent versus 2011, from 1.56 to 1.71 lbs.
Its waste footprint rose six percent, from 28,300 tons to 29,900 tons, and its total waste avoided through recycling fell by 8 percent, from 21,010 to 19,410 tons.
Its recycling rate fell from 43 percent in 2011 to 39 percent in 2012. Recycling income fell from $2.93 million to $2.03 million.
