Office Depot is lowering the carbon footprint of paper

Paper has persisted in the workplace and everyday life despite the fact that many people consider it a visceral reminder of chopping trees and devastated ecosystems. Some companies are making an effort to improve paper’s image, and their own image at the same time, by reducing its carbon footprint. That in mind, Office Depot is delivering on its goal of using all renewable energy at its headquarters and during the manufacture of its 100% Recycled Envirocopy paper.

The concept sounds good, and shifting demand for electricity away from non-renewable sources like coal will definitely encourage power companies to develop new energy infrastructures. Making paper an environmentally friendly option may also take a swing at some of the electronic office trends that have prevailed for years, as well as the success e-books.

Office Depot is merging its business priorities closely in this case because it’s making a move toward renewable energy in an effort to improve its image and simultaneously create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It claims that businesses wanting to print on paper “responsibly” will buy from a company focused on minimizing its carbon footprint.

There may be some truth to that, and Office Depot may well see success in increasing sales with this sort of initiative. If nothing else it’s magnifying and funneling demand from customers for greener products upward in the production process toward power companies.

This sort of change may also cascade to other office supply companies who find it necessary to introduce a competing product that also carries the Green-e logo. That mean the company must abide by a specific set of rules that govern how it can conduct business related to those products.

Next, the challenge becomes providing enough renewable energy sources cheaply enough to handle demand from businesses like Office Depot that are giving green serious consideration.