19 October 2009
Office Supply Company in Argentina Commits to Workers, Community
Washington — Officenet Staples in Argentina offers its customers more than basic office products and business machines. Its commitment to corporate responsibility is seen in the company’s efforts to foster entrepreneurship and to contribute to the community with donations, fundraising, education and many other programs.
Officenet, based in Buenos Aires, is a finalist for the U.S. State Department’s 2009 Award for Corporate Excellence, which recognizes businesses that demonstrate good corporate citizenship. Officenet is a subsidiary of Staples, the world’s largest office supply retail store chain, headquartered in Massachusetts.
This year, Officenet Staples donated 11,000 boxes of food to a local nongovernmental organization (NGO), Banco de Alimentos (Food Bank), which were distributed to 224 homes and community centers in low-income neighborhoods. The company also launched a paper and plastics recycling campaign to raise money for medical equipment for Hospital de Niños Garrahan, a medical treatment center for children with cancer. For Día del Niño (Children’s Day), Officenet collected 1,000 toys from its employees and customers and donated them to two NGOs that help needy children.
The Staples Foundation for Learning has donated $500,000 to Ashoka, an international NGO specializing in education and entrepreneurship, to support expansion of Ashoka’s Youth Venture program into Argentina and several other countries. The Youth Venture program supports projects that have meaningful social impact in their communities. Among such programs in Argentina are Lucha Contra el Dengue, which helps raise awareness about dengue fever, and Culturalmente Hablando, which raises money to provide school supplies to low-income students throughout Buenos Aires.
“We see entrepreneurship, both social and for profit, as key to a country’s development,” said Leo Piccioli, country manager for Officenet Staples Argentina, in an e-mail.
Officenet in Argentina donated $50,000, plus personnel and time, to help 70 entrepreneurs from 13 provinces develop business plans and open their businesses. It also sponsored a digital economy forum aimed at business entrepreneurs interested in interactive information sharing Web applications. The company offers discounts on office products and contributes discontinued and customer-returned products to NGOs in Argentina; it donated $30,000 worth of such products in 2008.
Every year, Officenet Staples employees take part in a 10-kilometer race with employees of other companies to support three Argentine NGOs for people with special needs.
The company also promotes diversity and ethics within its own workplace. It has advanced women’s rights and those of disabled persons. Officenet uses a system that enables voice-guided Internet navigation for its blind employees and provided sign-language training for employees who work with a hearing-impaired employee. It has generous paternity and maternity leave policies, and among the employee benefits are discounts for meals, office supplies and pharmaceutical supplies, English-as-a-second-language lessons and technical training. It has a zero tolerance policy for unethical behavior.
Officenet in Argentina has an active recycling program and embraces other environmentally responsible practices.
The company’s donations and community outreach have earned it a place among the finalists for the U.S. secretary of state’s 2009 Award for Corporate Excellence.
For more information, see the Officenet Staples Argentina Web site (in Spanish) and the Ashoka Web site.
