Office Depot Deploys

Office Depot Deploys ``Green Power'' in 12 California Locations; Teams Up with Strategic Energy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 50%

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jun 10, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE)

Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), an industry leader in environmental stewardship, today announced that 12 of its California locations have purchased renewable energy from Strategic Energy, a leading supplier of retail electricity in competitive markets. Effective last month, the "green power" agreement enables the Office Depot stores and warehouses to source their electricity needs from renewable resources for a period of two years.

The new agreement is expected to result in Office Depot purchasing approximately 12 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy on an annual basis. The energy purchased through this agreement, called "Landfill Gas to Energy" (LGE), is 50 percent less carbon-intensive than conventional electricity generation and will be responsible for reducing approximately 3 million pounds (or 1,400 tons) of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) per year. The environmental benefits of using landfill gas is equivalent to removing 260 passenger cars from the road or supplying electricity to 300 households for one year without any CO2 emissions.

"Office Depot's mission is to be the industry leader in the conservation of our natural resources," said Tyler Elm, Director of Environmental Affairs for Office Depot. "Our commitment to purchasing green power enables us not only to enhance our quality of life, but also helps to begin shifting the paradigm related to how companies purchase their energy. To date, a limited number of Fortune 500 companies have purchased renewable energy, putting Office Depot in an exclusive group that is beginning to make a difference."

This agreement represents the first time Office Depot has signed a green power agreement to power their facilities with renewable resources. Branches participating in the new agreement with Strategic Energy are located in Fullerton, La Crescenta, Fountain Valley, Temecula, Moreno Valley, Alhambra, LaVerne, Long Beach, Irvine, San Fernando, Long Beach and La Mirada.

"Competitive markets give businesses an endless array of options for managing their energy needs, including the ability to purchase green power," said Trevor F. Lauer, Vice President of Strategic Energy. "We're pleased to expand our relationship with Office Depot through this important initiative and we support efforts by the industry to fuel the nation's economy with renewable energy sources."

Office Depot and the Environment

Office Depot's environmental procurement initiatives center on the guiding principles of Recycling and Pollution Reduction, Sustainable Forest Management and Issue Awareness and Market Development for environmentally preferable products. No other company in the office products industry has made as strong a commitment to conserve and protect our forests. Office Depot is already the largest reseller of recycled paper and recycled content products. In addition to the company's industry-leading 35% post consumer waste content paper, Office Depot offers thousands of different products containing recycled content and have recently added new products including 100% post consumer waste content papers. The company recently announced a five-year $2.2 million strategy to address forest and biodiversity conservation issues within the supply chain. Office Depot is collaborating with NatureServe, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy - three of the world's most respected science-driven conservation organizations - to form the Forest & Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. For more information, visit http://www.community.officedepot.com/environment.asp.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For a full list of participating Office Depot locations and access to local spokespeople, please contact Office Depot public relations. Additional Office Depot environmental information is available to the media at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment. For more information on "green power," visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Energy Web site at http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/index.htm.

About Strategic Energy

Strategic Energy, headquartered in Pittsburgh since 1986, is an energy management company providing electric load aggregation and power supply coordination services. For a management fee, Strategic Energy buys wholesale power under long-term contracts for direct delivery to retail customers under long-term contracts. The company operates in nine states with retail choice, including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Majority-owned by Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP), Strategic Energy's website is www.sel.com.

About Office Depot

With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., the company conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide.

Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world's number two online retailer - generating $2.6B in sales for FY'03. In North America, Office Depot has 900 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers.

The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

SOURCE: Office Depot

 Office Depot, Delray Beach Brian Levine, 561-438-2895 blevine@officedepot.com or Strategic Energy Doug Colafella, 412-644-3095 dcolafella@sel.com

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