Grand & Toy® Launches the Leadership In Greener Purchasing Awards

New Grand & Toy Awards Program Recognizes Customers for Environmental Commitment

TORONTO, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Grand & Toy, an affiliate of global office products provider Office Depot, Inc., today announced the winners of the first annual Leadership in Greener Purchasing Awards. This new awards program recognizes customers as leaders in their sector for purchasing products with environmental attributes and ecolabels.

"Our leadership award winners are an elite group at the forefront of green purchasing practices who have shown real effort to reduce their environmental footprint through sourcing," said Serguei Tchertok, Sustainability Manager at Grand & Toy. "Corporate citizenship has always been top priority for Grand & Toy. We are dedicated to helping our customers align with this commitment through a variety of initiatives to support, encourage and recognize their efforts."

For 2015, the following organizations were selected out of 500 customers evaluated to receive Leadership in Greener Purchasing Awards: 

• Fogler, Rubinoff LLP: Legal Sector
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC): Financial Sector
• Charles River Laboratories: Pharma and Biotech Sector
• Scholastic Canada: Media and Entertainment Sector
• GHD: Professional Services Sector
• University of British Columbia: Higher Education Sector
• Oxford Properties Group: Real Estate and Construction Sector
• PPG Architectural Coatings and Dulux Paints: Manufacturing Sector
• McDonald's Canada: Food & Beverage Sector
• WESCO Distribution Canada: Retail and Wholesale Sector
• Kal Tire: Automotive Sector
• Valero Energy: Energy and Utilities Sector

The leadership awards were based primarily on the percentage of the customers' expenditure on products with greener attributes including recycled, remanufactured, energy-efficient, and/or ecolabels such as FSC, EPEAT, GREENGUARD, GreenSeal, EcoLogo, etc., with Grand & Toy in 2015. Customers whose business relationship with G&T was based primarily on one or two product categories were excluded to ensure recognition was given to those with broad-based greener purchasing programs. The Leadership in Greener Purchasing Awards will be presented at Grand & Toy's annual Customer Appreciation events in Toronto on April 21, and in Vancouver on May 25.

For more information about Grand & Toy's commitment to Corporate Citizenship, visit: grandandtoy.com/citizenship

About Grand & Toy

With a heritage that dates back to 1882, today's Grand & Toy is committed to offering sustainable solutions to Canadian businesses in the areas of interiors, technology, and imaging and professional services, in addition to office and facility supplies. We are one of the largest B2B office products and services providers, operating one of the country's biggest distribution networks serving customers coast-to-coast via our direct sales force and e-commerce platform. Grand & Toy also demonstrates a firm commitment to corporate social responsibility through a comprehensive sustainability strategy that is manifested through numerous internal and external environmental and social outreach programs. For more information, visit grandandtoy.com.

SOURCE Grand & Toy

Image with caption: "First annual Grand & Toy Leadership in Greener Purchasing Awards announced winners in various sectors across Canada on April 21, 2016 (CNW Group/Grand & Toy)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160421_C3373_PHOTO_EN_669314.jpg

Media Contact: Jenny Maycock, Environics Communications, Inc., [email protected], 416-969-2718