Officeworks launching Restoring Australia – an initiative which sees the retailer plant two trees for every one used by customers, based on the weight of the paper and wood in its office supplies products.
Officeworks has partnered with the environment non-for-profit organisation, Greening Australia, to deliver the “Australian-first initiative”, which will see at least 200,000 native plants established each year across the country in key locations.
Officeworks Managing Director Mark Ward said, “Given about 8000 products in our office supplies range are paper and wood based, we saw a huge opportunity to empower our customers to shop more sustainably and improve the quality of Australia’s landscapes.”
In the announcement the company said that in the second half of 2017, more than 100,000 seeds and seedlings will be planted across the Tasmanian Midlands, New South Wales Highlands and the Victorian Volcanic Plains, where more than 85 percent of the natural habitat has been lost.
Greening Australia Acting CEO, Pauline Rawling said, “We are delighted to be a part of Restoring Australia. Our vision is to create healthy and productive landscapes where people and nature thrive – this sits at the heart of this initiative with Officeworks.
“It’s refreshing to see an iconic Australian business such as Officeworks take a real leadership role in the environmental space and have a measurable impact on Australia’s native flora and fauna,” she said.
Ward concluded, “We are so proud of Restoring Australia, because it’ll be doing just that, restoring and conserving landscapes across the country. Officeworks has a duty to operate our business responsibly and this initiative is our long-term commitment to making a positive difference to the communities where we live and work.”