OfficeMax New Zealand is committed to the conservation, protection and enhancement of the environment.  In meeting this commitment, OfficeMax conducts all activities with a high standard of environmental care and is committed to the reduction and where possible, prevention of pollution.

OfficeMax:

• Meets or exceeds compliance with all applicable environmental legislation and regulations
• Sets, monitors and reviews objectives and targets to continually improve and review environmental performance
• Acts to minimise consumption of resources and reuses or recycles to minimise waste where practical
• Ensures that procurement activities take into account environmental impacts for supplies and services sourced within New Zealand and overseas
• Offers a wide range of products that are environmentally certified or have strong environmental credentials
• Encourages all employees to participate in efforts to protect and improve the environment
• Provides training to all employees to ensure they have  appropriate knowledge on how to reduce their impact on the environment

Specific programs undertaken recently include:

• Obtaining Enviro-Mark® NZ – Diamond Certification for its New Zealand operations. OfficeMax’s ongoing commitment to the conservation, protection and enhancement of the environment has been officially recognised by the Landcare Research Enviro-Mark programme. OfficeMax is the first office products company and one of only eleven companies in New Zealand to be awarded the Enviro-Mark NZ Diamond certification - the highest level of recognition for their continuing commitment to environmental sustainability.
• A complete fleet replacement for our Account Managers with a car that has the lowest emissions ratings in its class for a standard engine.
• A comprehensive program to reduce electricity consumption – in the first site where this was rolled out , there was a 26% year on year reduction.
• A program to collect and donate used polypropylene strapping to local weaving groups.
• Apart from some speciality papers such as parchment paper, the majority of the copy paper we sell is from FSC certified forests. (Forest Stewardship Council certified.)
• Selecting Mondi as our international paper supplier. Mondi has a comprehensive environmental program, a modern energy and water efficient mill and has ISO 14001 certification
• Selecting SCA as our major hygiene paper supplier. Most SCA products are made here in New Zealand and SCA is ranked by EIRIS as number two in the world for environmental awareness.
• Contracting B J Ball as our primary paper merchant because they are FSC Chain of Custody and Forest Management certified. (FSC code: SCS-COC-00817, expires March 2011.)
• Offering recycled papers with from 50% to 100% recycled content. These papers are also manufactured using a Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) method. This means that no elemental chlorine or chlorine compounds have been used in its manufacture
• Provision of a used ink and toner cartridge collection program coupled with an extensive offering of re-manufactured Environmental Choice certified ink and toner cartridges from NuTech, an OfficeMax group company that is Enviro-Mark Gold certified
• Making it easier for our customers to choose greener products by providing information on individual products in our catalogue that comply with a suite of environmental credentials. We are also able to report on customers’ usage of these products to assist in directing them towards an optimum range of sustainable products.