Green Program

At Sun Office Products, we understand that being environmentally conscious is a vital part of your business practice. As the implementation of green initiatives has become an increasingly important part of business in the USA, you can be confident that Sun Office Products together with our Distribution Partner, SP Richards is a consciously green partner in all aspects of our business practices.

The Sun Office Products Business Model

We at Sun, as an independent distributor, have a business model that is inherently green. Without big empty retail stores that devour energy and resources, we are able to be more efficient. We deliver just-in-time goods that do not sit on retail shelves. Just like the national delivery giants FedEx® and UPS®, our fleet of delivery trucks utilizes the latest route efficiency software to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption. At Sun Office Products, this kind of efficiency means minimizing frequently overlooked externalities that harm the environment. This means that as we support your green initiatives you can be assured that while our retailer competitors “talk” a good green story, Sun, on a daily basis actually promotes and practices proven and real methods when it comes to environmental sustainability.

Are you Willing to Go-Green?

Green An umbrella term that refers to any practice that helps preserve or avoids damaging the environment.

We realize that in business, large and small changes may not come quickly or easily. Taking the steps towards reducing your environmental footprint and increasing sustainability can mean a considerable amount of money and time. It is our goal at Sun to enable you to take the quickest and easiest step in that process known as Environmentally Preferable Purchasing.

Practicing Environmentally Preferable Purchasing means ensuring that supply chains are sustainable, and then using those supply chains to purchase products with as much recycled content as possible. At Sun, we work to meet your standards for a sustainable supplier by helping you minimize your environmental footprint as we reduce ours.

Go-Green Product Catalog

Environmental Sustainability A movement towards redesigning the ways society’s needs and wants are met so that they do not impede the environment’s ability to endure and thrive.

Whether you’re in the market for biodegradable sticky notes or folders, filing cabinets made from post-consumer waste, kitchen and break room items made from 100% recycled and organic materials, or all-natural room décor, we have something for you within our vast selection of Go-Green items. Our Go-Green online catalog offers a selection of over 7,000 products made from post-consumer material. In addition to office products, furniture, and restroom supplies, we also offer a variety of garbage receptacles that facilitate proper waste management during your everyday business operations.

How do you know the product is Green?

Post-consumer Waste (PCW) Material or product that has served its intended purpose and has been discarded for disposal or recovery. If recycled, its content is usually annotated in percentages in the recycled product.

Do you only buy products made of more than 75% Post- Consumer Waste (PCW)? Are you curious as to whether an item is recyclable or made of recycled content? First, look for the green recycle icon next to individual product listings in our catalog. If you’re not sure a particular Go-Green product meets your sustainability standards, the catalog includes a “technical specifications” tab under every Go-Green item that provides the percentage of post-consumer waste and recycled content used in the product’s composition. This information along with other details regarding the making and use of the product makes items easy to compare and enables you to find exactly what you need for your business offices and other facilities.

Sustainable Paper

Together, Sun and SP Richards are uniquely enabled to provide you with access to the widest selection of recycled paper manufacturers. We offer a wide variety of paper made partially or fully of recycled content and post consumer waste.

Recycled Material that has been repurposed as partial content in a new product or has simply been collected, cleaned and reused in its original manner.

Green Compliance and Reporting

Our entire selection of paper in the Go-Green catalog is certified by one of two leading environmental audit programs:

• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) – an independent, non-profit and internationally recognized sustainable forestry certification program. SFI is the largest single forest standard in the world.

• Green-e – the nation’s leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. It is a program of Center for Resource Solutions.

At Sun, we participate in voluntary third-party certification so our customers can be confident in their environmentally preferable purchases.

Additionally, Sun will provide you reporting, at the frequency of your choice, which breaks down all of your Go-Green purchases including recycled content percentages and environmental footprint data.

Compatible and PCW Toner Cartridges

With the large amount of documents that businesses print every day, we realize it is vital for you to conduct an in-depth search for which toner cartridges work the best with the needs of your facility. To continue your sustainable plans, Sun offers a selection of compatible toner cartridges made with up to 92% post-consumer materials and 92% recycled content. In addition to being made of recycled content, these cartridges are also recyclable and refillable themselves. You can also utilize our “Ink & Toner Finder” feature within our online ordering site to assist you in finding these cartridges.

Sun Office Products, The SP Richards Company and Genuine Parts
Company Green Programs

Promoting responsible environmental stewardship is a vital part of Sun’s, S.P. Richards’, and the Genuine Parts Company’s business practices, and we additionally partner with many suppliers with eco-friendly practices and product lines.

The Green Program at Sun, SPR and GPC promotes the small changes in everyday operations that lead to a big positive effect.

Below are the practices and policies we vigorously promote and adhere to at Sun, The SP Richards Company and their parent company, Genuine Parts Company. A few of our in-house environment-related policies include:

• Reducing regular energy usage at every opportunity
• Reducing print by publishing our flyers, quarterly catalogs, and general line catalogs online
  • When printed, our catalogs are composed of 100% PCW paper with a soy-based ink
  • Like our paper products, our catalogs are FSC/SFI certified
• Recycling all unused corrugated cardboard boxes, aluminum cans, and paper
• Reusing all cardboard from inbound shipments from our vendors
• Saving energy by installing LED and other efficient lighting retrofits in facilities where it is beneficial to do so.
• Utilization of Managed Print Services to efficiently utilize ink and toner use as well as identify opportunities to repair or replace inefficient and energy wasting printers. (Please contact your STAT! Team™ representative to learn more about Managed Print Services for your organization)

These responsible environmental habits have been implemented both on a national scale and locally to support the credibility of Sun Office Products as an environmentally responsible partner for your everyday business needs.