Annie Sanders, Director of Shareholder Advocacy, asanders@greencentury.com, 773-272-6691; Mark Morgenstein, Media Relations Director, mmorgenstein@greencentury.com, 678-427-1671
Boston, December 21, 2022 – The ODP Corporation,* which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores, has committed to reducing plastic packaging associated with its private label products and e-commerce shipping operations 20% below 2022 levels by 2027. The commitment, which followed an engagement by Green Century Funds°, makes the company one of just a handful of major global retailers to put out an absolute plastic packaging reduction goal.
“Green Century congratulates ODP on its commitment to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging, which places the company as a leader in mitigating plastic-related risks,” said Leslie Samuelrich, President of the Green Century Funds. “By implementing this commitment, ODP is literally ‘taking care of business,’ as its slogan states, and we look forward to working with them as they do their part to reduce plastic in our environment.”
Office Depot Stepping up as a Leader
ODP is going a step further than many other retailers, such as Target* and Walmart,* which have set goals to reduce the amount of new plastic used in packaging but have yet to make an overall plastic reduction commitment. Other companies cutting plastic include Unilever,* Mattel,* and CVS,* all of whom have declared time-bound goals to reduce total plastic use in recent years.
“ODP’s commitment to reduce plastic packaging comes just in time for the holidays, and not a moment too soon,” said Annie Sanders, director of shareholder advocacy with Green Century. “Plastic pollutes everywhere from the peak of Mt. Everest to ice in Antarctica. Without more commitments such as this, plastic in our oceans is on pace to nearly triple by 2040.”
According to a study from the Pew Charitable Trust, current commitments from government and industry will only stem plastic pollution by 7% by 2040. Pew says, “Industry and governments have the solutions today to reduce rates of annual land-based plastic leakage into the ocean by about 80 per cent,” and that the first step is to reduce growth in plastic consumption to avoid nearly one-third of projected plastic waste generation.
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About The Green Century Funds
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel free mutual funds in the United States. Green Century Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of September 30th, 2022, The ODP Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.01%, and 0.00%, Target comprised 1.08%, 0.44%, and 0.00%, Walmart comprised 0.00%, 0.00%, and 0.00%, Unilever comprised 0.92%, 0.01%, and 3.32%, Mattel comprised 0.00%, 0.04%, and 0.00%, and CVS comprised 0.84%, 0.00%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.
This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. 12/22