Are you still concerned about going green?  I do hope so!  If you're looking for and taking advantage of the opportunities available to you, then this probably won't be news to you.  In fact, for different reasons it's not really news for us.  This revolves around catalog buying it doesn't affect us at Yser directly, at all.  Nonetheless, the initiative for going green has benefits and advantages for all of us, in one way or another.  That's reason enough for me to dedicate this week's newsletter to this topic.

Every office needs its supplies.  Everyone who's worked in an office has probably heard of Staples.  Everyone who's had to stock an office certainly has heard of them.  When such a company sets a landmark others are bound to notice and emulate this decision.

So much the better, then, when that landmark is the Staples Green Guide.

The purpose of the Staples Green Guide is to provide an online catalog of eco-friendly products for its contract customers.  This comes as a part of Staples' ongoing efforts - and needs - to meet "green supply management" requirements.  Although clearly aimed at providing greater ease of use and convenience for existing customers who are striving for environmentally sensitive procurement practices, it is bound to attract the attention of those who've only been dabbling at it.

There is another advantage to such an online catalog, as Staples points out.  The electronic version of the catalog "combines the ease and familiarity of a traditional paper catalog, while enabling customers to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the use and disposal of paper catalogs."  That the company will undoubtedly save a good deal of money from no longer having to print and ship these catalogs should be an old hat, by now.

The products on offer through the Staples Green Guide include the usual suspects, such as paper and ink or toner products for printers.  Items that one might not think to find in such a catalog are furniture and desk accessories as well as cleaning products.  The guide also includes some features we are accustomed to from regular web browsing, such as the ability to bookmark pages.

From Marci Grebstein, vice president of marketing for Staples Contract: "Building sustainable business processes is important to our customers and they are increasingly looking for us to provide more environmentally friendly solutions. The Staples Green Guide makes it easy for procurement managers to reach their green procurement goals and gain cost efficiencies with program compliance."

Perhaps it the advocates of more pro-environmental policies put their arguments in the form of 'sustainable business processes' they might find a more receptive audience.

 

Sincerely,