Paper Supplier Not Green Enough for Staples
Staples has been very public about its commitment to go green and the retailer has now made a very emphatic statement to that effect with the cancellation of its contract with Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) over that company’s alleged environmental misdeeds.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Staples cut off APP after it determined the company was not taking appropriate action to protect rainforests in Indonesia and other parts of Asia where it has operations.
The office supplies retailer joined others including Office Depot in choosing to no longer do business with APP. Until recently, Staples had sourced roughly nine percent of its paper supply from the Singapore-based company.
Mark Buckley, vice president for environmental issues at Staples, told the Journal that it decided that its relationship with APP was putting the retailer’s brand at “great peril.” He said the company decided to end its contract because, “We haven’t seen any indication that APP has been making any positive strides” in changing its approach to the environment.
The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has been one of the harshest critics of APP. Last month the environmental organization issued a scathing report against the company and its affiliates claiming they were cutting “an enormous swath through one of Sumatra’s last remaining large forest blocks, home to two tribes of indigenous people and endangered elephants, tigers and orangutans.”
Adam Tomasek, director of WWF’s Borneo and Sumatra Program, said, “APP shows a total disregard for the ecosystem in their quest for cheap sources of raw materials.”
The Journal reported that APP’s practices have come under greater scrutiny as new data has placed Indonesia at number three on the list of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide. Groups such as the WFF claim that fires set to clear forests and peat swamps that have been logged are a major source of the pollution.
Discussion Questions: If the accusations against APP are true, were its environmentally unfriendly actions putting the Staples brand at “great peril?” What learning is there for other retailers in this case?
- Staples Cuts Off Paper Supplier – The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)
- Highway Planned by Paper Giant Asian Pulp and Paper Will Destroy Sumatran Forests, says WWF – World Wildlife Federation
- New Report: Asia Pulp & Paper Misleads Customers, Continues to Destroy Indonesia’s Rainforests – World Wildlife Federation
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9 Comments on "Paper Supplier Not Green Enough for Staples"
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Staples did the right thing. They compared their values with APP’s and saw they did not match. They ended the contract. A previous writer said this was for publicity: the average Staples customer is not going to hear of this action.
Also, cpgman, Staples, through its actions, did not say selling paper is inherently wrong. It said the ways APP went about acquiring their paper and their apparent refusals to change at Staples’ requests was not consistent with Staples’ beliefs.
Retailers can make huge differences. Some changes are painful, many are incredibly simple, but companies that are creative will win. This challenges created from choosing to be environmentally conscious are not different than any other challenges companies face.
Interesting step by Staples, but really a rouse. A good portion of the company’s sales come from selling paper, stationery, the printing/photocopying station, and lots more paper products throughout the store…maps, memo pads, magazines, binder tabs etc….
Last time I visited Staples, they literally had an entire wall of those big boxes of 5,000 reams from tons of brands and brightness. And another aisle or two of strictly paper types and colours.
A feel-good gesture to get some publicity, but nothing more.
The power of a protective environmental position when practiced universally and consistently by the retail world can produce better results than governmental nick-nacking, i.e. regulations.
Perhaps Staples has started something truly Green. Let’s hope Wal-Mart as well as APP are both listening.
I’d like to think that retailers can make a difference, but ultimately it will be consumers and voters who drive any change that is meaningful. Retailers and governments respond to consumer and voter demand. This leads into the question of what will it take to change consumer and voter views and preferences. Historically it’s been personal experiences, heavy doses of education (supported by unbiased scientific fact) and a strong economy…did I mention that the process is slow?
Asking people to pay more when they are struggling to buy food is less likely to occur than asking someone to change when the change is easy. I commend Staples and Office Depot for their initiative, but if the consumer just looks for cheap product elsewhere, all that will have occurred is a shift in the supply chain. I like to think that I’m a long term thinker, as such I’ll support Staples and other retailers who take the high road, but I suspect I’m in the minority on this.
I could be wrong, but I think it was a Wal-Mart exec who said something along the lines of “The order blank is the most powerful tool in the world.” The context was a discussion of setting environmentally-friendly specifications, requiring vendors to live up to certain criteria. Doesn’t matter who said it. I believe it is true. And a whole lot better than governmental regulation, if retailers can get behind this with critical mass. Of course, doing this often means the product costs more. But if the big dogs like Wal-Mart (and even Staples) will climb on board with their buying clout, it can help change how suppliers operate, since they all want those big contracts.
Staples got great publicity for dumping Asia Pulp and Paper. Every intelligent retailer would love that kind of publicity. Being on the side of the endangered species! Defending the forests! This is the way to enhance any brand.