The female market is very important to Office Depot and the office products industry, and as a result the company is heavily focused on the segment

Global <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Summit of Women 2= 007 Remarks
Sabine Zwinscher

“Corporate Social Responsibil= ity Across Borders: Best Practices”

·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = He= llo and thank you.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = On behalf of Office Depot, I would = like to thank everyone for inviting me here today to participate in this panel o= n the growing and important topic of Corporate Social Responsibility. =

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Co= rporate Social Responsibility, or CSR as it is often called, is very important to Office Depot.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = At Office Depot, we define CSR as a commitment to ethical business practices, community investment, diversity and the environment.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = We understand that the traditional business goal of delivering value to shareholders is now blending with a 21^st century notion of delivering value to a broader set of stakeholders.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Th= ose stakeholders include shareholders as well as customers, community members a= nd employees.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In= order to deliver that value, we believe very strongly that a company must be driv= en by one vision and one set of values that can be carried around the world. <= o:p>

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In= 2005, when our CEO Steve Odland joined the Company, he facilitated a process in which the company’s global leadership met in teams in the U.S. and = Europe over several days and collectively developed= our vision statement: “Delivering Winning Solutions That Inspire Worklife,”

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = An= d our core values: Integrity, Innovation, Inclusion, Customer Focus, and Accountability.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Th= at core value of Inclusion is what= I will speak on today.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In= clusion means that we approach all opportunities and challenges by respecting the diverse thoughts, beliefs, backgrounds, cultures and energies of all associates, customers and suppliers.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In= clusion means that regardless of someone’s race, religion, gender or experien= ce, we respect and listen to one another – and our stakeholders.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Of= fice Depot is a global company with over 52,000 associates around the world and customers in 42 countries.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Th= at means we are both employing and serving a lot of people. =

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = An= d a lot of those people are women.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In= fact, nearly 50% of our global workforce is female; and more than 60% of our cust= omer base is female.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Th= ese numbers alone prove how critical women are to our success as a Company. But= let me tell you more.

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·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = Wo= men are integrally involved in our Company’s strategy and direction.=

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o = Office Depot’s Executive Committee consists of eight members, four of which = are female: Pat McKay, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Ci= ndy Campbell, EVP of Business Solutions Division; Monica L= uechtefeld, EVP of Business Development, Supply Chain and IT; and Daisy Vanderlinde, EVP of Human Resources.

o = Also, four of the 12 members of our Board of Directors are female.

· As= for our female customers - over the past 10 years Office Depot has devel= oped a variety of innovative initiatives to support our commitment to female business professionals, such as:

o = E-newsletters with content targeted to women;

o = An online Business Resource Center; and

o = The Office Depot Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conference (based in the = United States).

· Each of these programs is guided by our Offi= ce Depot Women’s Marketing team in partnership with a Women's Advisory Board, which is composed of a number of influential women business leaders.=

· We also partner with a variety of leading women’s associations that offer outstanding resources for female customers and associates who seek knowledge and support.

· And as our Company continues to grow, we also intend to expand our initiatives to reach a global audience of businesswome= n.

· One such example is our involvement in today’s Global Women’s Conference.

· We see our participation in events like thes= e as an opportunity to both introduce the Office Depot brand to new customers an= d to help more small businesses and professionals succeed in their Worklife.

· I just recently learned of one small business in…

· So, once again, thank you for your time. I l= ook forward to speaking to many of you over the cour= se of today.