We have developed this Web site to share information about Staples’ corporate responsibility efforts with our stakeholders, including customers, investors, associates, suppliers, community members and non-profit organizations.

Our 2012 Staples Soul Report is available for download, either as a customized Report or as a PDF. Our 2006 through 2011 Reports are also archived on this site. As in years past, we have included a summary of Soul initiatives and progress in our Annual Report.

This Web site contains corporate responsibility information for the 2012 fiscal year ending February 2, 2012. The current site reflects consolidated information from Staples and its global operations, to the degree available. We report data for leased facilities (our stores and warehouses) as well as for fully owned and/or operationally controlled buildings and operations. We exclude reporting on joint ventures, as these ventures represent an insignificant and non-material contribution to our overall impacts.

The charts and tables included in the site, as well as data in the performance summary section of the site, clearly indicate whether the information reflects global, U.S. or international data, and whether there have been any restatements to data reported in past years.

As our ability to collect environmental performance data across our global operations continues to improve, we are gathering more comprehensive and accurate data in more of our markets. For example, this year, we are able to report performance data for select countries in our high-growth markets for the first time. We are also gathering data across more metrics as data collection processes improve, to give us a more holistic view of our performance.

We believe that the information presented in this site is accurate and fairly represents our corporate responsibility programs and results. We did not, however, seek external assurance or verification for this site.

We applied the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (GRI G3) in the development of this site and are self-declaring an Application Level of B. As part of this process, we conducted a materiality analysis to determine the topics of highest relevance and value to our stakeholders, and have shaped the site content accordingly. Specific indicator references can be found in the GRI Content Index. Click here to download GRI Index table.

STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART I: Profile Disclosures

1. Strategy and Analysis

Profile Disclosure	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer	Explanation
1.1	Statement from the most senior decision-maker of the organization	Fully	CEO Letter
1.2	Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities	Fully	CEO Letter
			Performance
			Reporting Approach	See 2010 and 2011 Soul reports for materiality analysis.

2. Organizational Profile

Profile Disclosure	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer	Explanation
2.1	Name of the organization.	Fully	About Staples
2.2	Primary brands, products, and/or services.	Fully	About Staples
2.3	Operational structure of the organization, including main divisions, operating companies, subsidiaries, and joint ventures.	Fully	About Staples
			Corporate Overview
2.4	Location of organization's headquarters.	Fully	About Staples
2.5	Number of countries where the organization operates, and names of countries with either major operations or that are specifically relevant to the sustainability issues covered in the report.	Fully	About Staples
			Corporate Overview
			Annual Report	Pages 84-85 of PDF;
2.6	Nature of ownership and legal form.	Fully	About Staples
			Annual Report	Page 71 of PDF
2.7	Markets served (including geographic breakdown, sectors served, and types of customers/beneficiaries).	Fully	About Staples	Pages 73-76 of PDF
			Corporate Overview
			Annual Report	Pages 73-76 of PDF
2.8	Scale of the reporting organization, including number of employees, net sales, total capitalization, quantity of products or services provided.	Fully	About Staples
		Fully	Annual Report	Pages 76, 115 of PDF
2.9	Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure, or ownership.	Fully	Annual Report	Pages 3-4, 73 of PDF
2.10	Awards received in the reporting period.	Fully	Recognition and Awards

3. Report Parameters

Profile Disclosure	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer	Explanation
3.1	Reporting period (e.g., fiscal/calendar year) for information provided.	Fully	About this site
3.2	Date of most recent previous report (if any).	Fully	About this Site
			Report Archive
3.3	Reporting cycle (annual, biennial, etc.)	Fully	Annual
3.4	Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents.	Fully	Take Action
			[email protected]
3.5	Process for defining report content.	Fully	About this site
			Reporting Approach	See 2010 and 2011 Soul reports for materiality analysis.
3.6	Boundary of the report (e.g., countries, divisions, subsidiaries, leased facilities, joint ventures, suppliers).	Fully	About this site
3.7	State any specific limitations on the scope or boundary of the report (see completeness principle for explanation of scope).	Fully	About this site
3.8	Basis for reporting on joint ventures, subsidiaries, leased facilities, outsourced operations, and other entities that can significantly affect comparability from period to period and/or between organizations.	Fully	About this site
3.9	Data measurement techniques and the bases of calculations, including assumptions and techniques underlying estimations applied to the compilation of the Indicators and other information in the report. Explain any decisions not to apply, or to substantially diverge from, the GRI Indicator Protocols.	Fully	About this site
3.10	Explanation of the effect of any re-statements of information provided in earlier reports, and the reasons for such re-statement (e.g., mergers/acquisitions, change of base years/periods, nature of business, measurement methods).	Fully	Performance
3.11	Significant changes from previous reporting periods in the scope, boundary, or measurement methods applied in the report.	Fully	About this site
3.12	Table identifying the location of the Standard Disclosures in the report.	Fully	GRI Index
3.13	Policy and current practice with regard to seeking external assurance for the report.	Fully	About this site

4. Governance, Commitments, and Engagement

Profile Disclosure	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer	Explanation
4.1	Governance structure of the organization, including committees under the highest governance body responsible for specific tasks, such as setting strategy or organizational oversight.	Fully	Corporate Governance
			Proxy Statement	Pages 10-13 of PDF
4.2	Indicate whether the Chair of the highest governance body is also an executive officer.	Fully	Ensuring Sound Governance
4.3	For organizations that have a unitary board structure, state the number of members of the highest governance body that are independent and/or non-executive members.	Fully	Ensuring Sound Governance
4.4	Mechanisms for shareholders and employees to provide recommendations or direction to the highest governance body.	Fully	Ensuring Sound Governance
4.5	Linkage between compensation for members of the highest governance body, senior managers, and executives (including departure arrangements), and the organization's performance (including social and environmental performance).	Fully	Annual Report	Pages 32-48 of PDF. No specific social or environmental criteria are applied.
4.6	Processes in place for the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interest are avoided.	Fully	Director's Corporate Governance Guidelines
4.7	Process for determining the qualifications and expertise of the members of the highest governance body for guiding the organization's strategy on economic, environmental, and social topics.	Fully	Director's Corporate Governance Guidelines
4.8	Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation.	Fully	Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
4.9	Procedures of the highest governance body for overseeing the organization's identification and management of economic, environmental, and social performance, including relevant risks and opportunities, and adherence or compliance with internationally agreed standards, codes of conduct, and principles.	Fully	Ethics and Governance
			Corporate Governance
4.10	Processes for evaluating the highest governance body's own performance, particularly with respect to economic, environmental, and social performance.	Fully	Director's Corporate Governance Guidelines
4.11	Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the organization.	Fully	Culture of Integrity
			Sustainable Products and Services
			CDP Investor Response question 2.1
4.12	Externally developed economic, environmental, and social charters, principles, or other initiatives to which the organization subscribes or endorses.	Fully	None
4.13	Memberships in associations (such as industry associations) and/or national/international advocacy organizations in which the organization: * Has positions in governance bodies; * Participates in projects or committees; * Provides substantive funding beyond routine membership dues; or * Views membership as strategic.	Fully	Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's)
4.14	List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization.	Fully	Stakeholder Engagement
4.15	Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage.	Fully	Stakeholder Engagement;
			Customer Satisfaction
			Community
			Diversity
			Supplier Diversity
			Understanding Associates
4.16	Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group.	Fully	Frequency of engagement varies greatly; some occurs on an ad-hoc basis while other engagements occur regularly. More detail is included in the following sections:
			Stakeholder Engagement
			Customer Satisfaction
			Understanding Associates
			Ensuring Sound Governance
4.17	Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how the organization has responded to those key topics and concerns, including through its reporting.	Fully	Materiality Analysis

STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART II: Disclosures on Management Approach (DMAs)

G3 DMA	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer	Further comments
DMA EC	Disclosure on Management Approach EC
Aspects	Economic performance	Fully	Annual Report	(Full Report)
			Community Section
	Market presence	Fully	Annual report	Pages 73-74 of PDF
	Indirect economic impacts	Fully	Community Section
			Supplier Diversity
DMA EN	Disclosure on Management Approach EN
Aspects	Materials	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy	Pages 73-74 of PDF
			Eliminating Operational Waste
			Sustainable Products and Services
			Recycling Solutions for Customers
			Performance
	Energy	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
			Environment/Goals
			Performance
	Water	Partially	Environment/Our Strategy
			Total Water Use
	Biodiversity	Partially	Environment/Our Strategy
			Sustainable Paper- Based Products
	Emissions, effluents and waste	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
			Environment/Goals
			Performance
	Products and services	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
			Sustainable Products and Services
	Compliance	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
	Transport	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
			Fleet efficiency
	Overall	Fully	Environment/Our Strategy
DMA LA	Disclosure on Management Approach LA
Aspects	Employment	Fully	Understanding Associates
	Labor/management relations	Not	No related indicators are reported
	Occupational health and safety	Partially	Managing Occupational Health and Safety
	Training and education	Fully	Talent Management
	Diversity and equal opportunity	Fully	Diversity
DMA HR	Disclosure on Management Approach HR
Aspects	Investment and procurement practices	Fully	Ethics and Governance
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Non-discrimination	Partially	Ethics and Governance
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Freedom of association and collective bargaining	Partially	Staples Global Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Child labor	Partially	Staples Global Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Forced and compulsory labor	Partially	Staples Global Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Security practices	Partially	Staples Global Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
	Indigenous rights	Partially	Staples Global Code of Ethics
			Supplier Code of Conduct
DMA SO	Disclosure on Management Approach SO
Aspects	Community	Fully	Community
			Community Goals
			Performance
	Corruption	Fully	Ethics and Governance
			Culture of Integrity
	Public policy	Fully	Political contributions approach
	Anti-competitive behavior	Partially	Ethics and Governance
			Staples Global Code of Ethics
	Compliance	Fully	Ethics and Governance
			Culture of Integrity
DMA PR	Disclosure on Management Approach PR
Aspects	Customer health and safety	Fully	100% Satisfaction Guarantee
	Product and service labeling	Fully	Customer Satisfaction
	Marketing communications	Not	No related indicators are reported
	Customer privacy	Partially	Protecting customer information and privacy
	Compliance	Not	No related indicators are reported

STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART III: Performance Indicators

Economic

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
EC1	Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings, and payments to capital providers and governments.	Fully	About Staples
			Impact on Communities
			Performance Summary/Economic
			Annual Report (Pages 2, 5, 131-133, 138-140)
EC2	Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organization's activities due to climate change.	Fully	Staples CDP Investor response
EC3	Coverage of the organization's defined benefit plan obligations.	Fully	Annual Report (Pages 142-150)
EC4	Significant financial assistance received from government.	Not	Not reported
Market presence
EC5	Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation.	Not	Not reported
EC6	Policy, practices, and proportion of spending on locally-based suppliers at significant locations of operation.	Not	Not reported
EC7	Procedures for local hiring and proportion of senior management hired from the local community at significant locations of operation.	Not	Not reported
Indirect economic impacts
EC8	Development and impact of infrastructure investments and services provided primarily for public benefit through commercial, in-kind, or pro bono engagement.	Not	Not reported
EC9	Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts.	Fully	Impact on Communities
			Supplier Diversity

Environmental

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
Materials
EN1	Materials used by weight or volume.	Not	Not reported
EN2	Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials.	Partially	Recycling Solutions for Customers
			Performance Summary/Sustainable Products
Energy
EN3	Direct energy consumption by primary energy source.	Fully	Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
			Performance Summary/Energy
EN4	Indirect energy consumption by primary source.	Partially	Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
			Performance Summary/Energy
EN5	Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements.	Fully	Fleet efficiency
			Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EN6	Initiatives to provide energy-efficient or renewable energy based products and services, and reductions in energy requirements as a result of these initiatives.	Partially	Sustainable Products and Services
			Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EN7	Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption and reductions achieved.	Fully	Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Water
EN8	Total water withdrawal by source.	Partially	Performance Summary/Water
EN9	Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water.	Not	Not reported
EN10	Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused.	Not	Not reported
Biodiversity
EN11	Location and size of land owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.	Not	Not reported
EN12	Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.	Partially	Sustainable Paper-based products
EN13	Habitats protected or restored.	Not	Not reported
EN14	Strategies, current actions, and future plans for managing impacts on biodiversity.	Partially	Sustainable Paper-based products
EN15	Number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations, by level of extinction risk.	Not	Not reported
Emissions, effluents and waste
EN16	Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight.	Fully	Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
			Performance Summary/Greenhouse gas emissions
EN17	Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight.	Not	Not reported
EN18	Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved.	Fully	Sustainable Products and Services
			Using alternative sources of energy
			Performance Summary/Greenhouse gas emissions
EN19	Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weight.	Not	Not reported
EN20	NOx, SOx, and other significant air emissions by type and weight.	Not	Not reported
EN21	Total water discharge by quality and destination.	Not	Not reported
EN22	Total weight of waste by type and disposal method.	Fully	Eliminating Operational Waste
			Performance Summary/Waste and recycling
			We do not report on total hazardous waste statistics as hazardous waste constitutes less than 1% of our total waste stream by weight.
EN23	Total number and volume of significant spills.	Not	Not reported
EN24	Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention Annex I, II, III, and VIII, and percentage of transported waste shipped internationally.	Not	Not reported
EN25	Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected by the reporting organization's discharges of water and runoff.	Not	Not reported
Products and services
EN26	Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of products and services, and extent of impact mitigation.	Fully	Sustainable Products and Services
			Sustainability strategy
EN27	Percentage of products sold and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category.	Partially	Recycling Solutions for Customers
			Eliminating Operational Waste
			Performance Summary/Recycling Services
Compliance
EN28	Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations.	Not	Not reported
Transport
EN29	Significant environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods and materials used for the organization's operations, and transporting members of the workforce.	Partially	Fleet efficiency
Overall
EN30	Total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type.	Not	Not reported

Social: Labor Practices and Decent Work

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
Employment
LA1	Total workforce by employment type, employment contract, and region.	Partially	About Staples
			Performance Summary/Economic
			Understanding Associates
LA2	Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender, and region.	Partially	Performance Summary/Diversity
LA3	Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations.	Fully	Employee benefits
			Working Here
Labor/management relations
LA4	Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.	Not	Not reported
LA5	Minimum notice period(s) regarding significant operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective agreements.	Not	Not reported
Occupational health and safety
LA6	Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs.	Not	Not reported
LA7	Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region.	Not	Not reported
LA8	Education, training, counseling, prevention, and risk-control programs in place to assist workforce members, their families, or community members regarding serious diseases.	Fully	Health and Wellness
LA9	Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions.	Not	Not reported
Training and education
LA10	Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category.	Partially	Talent Management
LA11	Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings.	Fully	Talent Management
LA12	Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews.	Fully	Talent Management
Diversity and equal opportunity
LA13	Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.	Fully	Staples Board of Directors
			Diversity Performance
LA14	Ratio of basic salary of men to women by employee category.	Not	Not reported

Social: Human Rights

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
Investment and procurement practices
HR1	Percentage and total number of significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that have undergone human rights screening.	Not	Not reported
HR2	Percentage of significant suppliers and contractors that have undergone screening on human rights and actions taken.	Fully	Ethical Sourcing
HR3	Total hours of employee training on policies and procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations, including the percentage of employees trained.	Partially	Ethical Sourcing
Non-discrimination
HR4	Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken.	Not	Not reported
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
HR5	Operations identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining may be violated or at significant risk, and actions taken to support these rights.	Not	Not reported
Child labor
HR6	Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of child labor, and measures taken to contribute to the elimination of child labor.	Not	Not reported
Forced and compulsory labor
HR7	Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor, and measures to contribute to the elimination of forced or compulsory labor.	Not	Not reported
Security practices
HR8	Percentage of security personnel trained in the organization's policies or procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations.	Not	Not reported
Indigenous rights
HR9	Total number of incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous people and actions taken.	Not	Not reported

Social: Society

Political Contributions

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
Community
SO1	Nature, scope, and effectiveness of any programs and practices that assess and manage the impacts of operations on communities, including entering, operating, and exiting.	Fully	Impact on Communities
			Providing Value to Customers
			Stakeholder Engagement
Corruption
SO2	Percentage and total number of business units analyzed for risks related to corruption.	Fully	Culture of Integrity
			The Staples Ethics and Compliance program is a risk-based program. 100% of businesses are analyzed for risks related to corruption.
SO3	Percentage of employees trained in organization's anti-corruption policies and procedures.	Fully	Culture of Integrity
			100% of employees in high risk geographies and job functions receive training.
SO4	Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption.	Fully	Staples Global Code of Ethics
Public policy
SO5	Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying.	Not	Not reported
SO6	Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country.	Fully	Political Contributions
Anti-competitive behavior
SO7	Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices and their outcomes.	Not	Not reported
Compliance
SO8	Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with laws and regulations.	Not	Not reported

Social: Product Responsibility

Performance Indicator	Description	Reported	Cross-reference/Direct answer
Customer health and safety
PR1	Life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of products and services are assessed for improvement, and percentage of significant products and services categories subject to such procedures.	Fully	Ethical Sourcing
PR2	Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning health and safety impacts of products and services during their life cycle, by type of outcomes.	Not	Not reported
Product and service labeling
PR3	Type of product and service information required by procedures, and percentage of significant products and services subject to such information requirements.	Partially	Sustainable Products and Services
			Performance Summary/Environment
PR4	Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning product and service information and labeling, by type of outcomes.	Not	Not reported
PR5	Practices related to customer satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction.	Fully	Customer satisfaction
Marketing communications
PR6	Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.	Not	Not reported
PR7	Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship by type of outcomes.	Not	Not reported
Customer privacy
PR8	Total number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data.	Not	Not reported
Compliance
PR9	Monetary value of significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of products and services.	Not	Not reported