Environmental Awareness

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the need for sustainable development, i.e. ‘paths of human progress which meet the needs and aspirations of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.’ Limited space and scarce natural resources as well as the vulnerability of ecosystems are forcing the world to adopt a responsible attitude to the use of resources and to be aware of the environmental consequences of human activities. As a responsible company, Corporate Express strives to use resources more efficiently and to reduce its global environmental ‘footprint’.

Concerning environment Corporate Express considers two impacts:

• The products which we source from our suppliers and which we offer to our clients
• The impact of our own operations

Environmentally acceptable products
In today’s rapidly globalising world, companies like ours increasingly source products from emerging economies. We seek to ensure that products are safe and that they meet not just our strict requirements, but also those of regulatory bodies and consumers. We manage quality in the total supply chain, from raw materials through to warehousing and distribution – taking manufacturing standards, purchasing criteria and import procedures fully into account. Ultimately it is our customers who decide what is important in the products they purchase. If corporate social responsibility is important to them, we are a good partner. We do our utmost to supply them with a wide choice of environmentally acceptable products, and a clear description of the nature of these products. Explanatory labelling of products is a priority.