Thailand, November 2, 2011. HP teams up with Office Depot to help mitigate the environmental effects of consumables that will otherwise end up in landfills. Project “Office Go Green” aims to educate consumers on product recycling, minimizing the use of consumables, and proper use of products for specific tasks. “HP has been in the forefront of IT companies by placing high emphasis on operating the business with social responsibility and environmental consciousness. The commitment has been implemented in the creation of technology, transportation, recycling of products and proper decomposition under the ‘HP Planet Partners’ program, which has been carried out for eight consecutive years in Thailand. Previous activities under the program focused on customer involvement among them. These activities include dam construction corals and growing plants, check and underwater garbage collecting, etc.,” said Vatsun Thirapatarapong, General Manager of Imaging & Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand), Ltd.

“Office Go Green” activities will be publicized at all Office Depot branches nationwide, which will include:

• Road shows to educate consumers on proper product selection for specific tasks
• Information on products that are easy to use and are environmentally friendly
• Information on authentic ink products that offer superior quality
• HP toner recycling drop boxes at every Office Depot

The toner recycling which was initiated in May received great response from the public where 6,000 toner cartridges were returned in just one month.

The second phase of the program aims to reach out to other printers particularly office based ones such as the HP LaserJet M1212nf and CP1525n. The program will also include loyalty programs for Office Depot customers, and consistent road shows at Office Depot branches nationwide.

Somchai Tawonrungroaj, Managing Director of Office Club (Thai), the operator of Office Depot is committed to managing waste from office supplies and consumables. They have previously partnered with “Recycle Paper For Trees,” under a collaboration with the Media Center Development Foundation, a non-profit organization which promotes reduced paper waste and used paper recycling, from waste generated by most offices. Paper donation boxes are set up in different locations in Greater Bangkok to gather paper waste. This program has gained positive results from offices in Greater Bangkok. The new partnership with HP is expected to be the same, thus strengthening its commitment to a healthier environment.

“The collaboration with Office Depot is a partnership program we prioritized. We have formed partnerships with several parties to carry out a series of activities and programs based on the belief that, joint effort will lead to greater outcomes. Collaboration with Office Depot, our trusted partner and a leader in office supplies and stationery with broad range of customer, ranging from business organizations to general consumers and nationwide branches, will contribute to the wider coverage of the Office Go Green program and make it possible to achieve prime objectives of reducing the use of consumables and energy as well as recycling,” Vatsun Thirapatarapong concluded.

-based on an article from www.nationmultimedia.com