Go Green and Save Time, Money and the Environment

School Specialty believes that the environment is a precious gift. We take our commitment to the environment very seriously given that our environmental choices will help teachers and the students they serve understand the importance of making such a commitment themselves.

Respecting the environment is more than a good business practice – it is the right thing to do. We understand, acknowledge, and accept our responsibility for developing sustainable practices that meet our customers' needs and our financial goals while taking into account the welfare of future generations and their dependence on a healthy environment.

Go Paperless

Going paperless is a meaningful way to reduce carbon emissions and help save our planet. But it can also help save you time and money – and simplify your life – while you're at it. Below are three ways Schools Specialty can help:

1. Paperless shopping: Did you know that School Specialty makes most of our catalogs available for browsing online? You can browse or search for specific products, and then simply click on an item to add it to your order. The best part? No paper catalogs to clutter up your desk – or the local landfill. Click here to shop our digital catalogs.

2. Paperless ordering: We've seen a dramatic rise in schools and institutions that have opted to send and receive orders electronically. Our nationally recognized team has experience in linking into most major education systems, including Lawson, Skyward, eSchool, Bitech, SAP, Peoplesoft, Munis, Unifund, Periscope and others, as well as supporting all standard XML and EDI formats. Contact us for a FREE analysis of your system.

3. Paperless invoicing: Want to get rid of mailed invoices? We offer two great choices, delivering invoices via email or directly to your accounting system. It not only helps reduce paper, it keeps you more organized!

By reducing the demand for paper, we can save millions of trees and significantly lower CO2 emissions. We can also reduce consumption of the resources used to produce and transport paper, such as water and fossil fuels. Finally, we can reduce the methane released from paper as it decomposes in landfills. With global warming progressing at a rapid pace, every reduction is a positive step in the right direction.

Dedicated to Our Green Strategy

School Specialty has invested in resources as part of our commitment to preserving and protecting the environment.

• We reduced our overall paper consumption by 31%, or 3,594 tons, from 2006 to 2009. According to Conservatree, this represents over 27,000 trees.

• We produce almost all of our marketing materials through environmental leaders in the printing industry. They recycle scrap paper and focus on ink waste, ink recovery, and formulating inks that are more eco-friendly.

• We encourage the use of recycled content, reject paper with components from endangered or ecologically-sensitive areas and require paper suppliers to obtain fiber from forests managed under credible forest certification programs.

• All offices and distribution centers are required to recycle all aluminum, paper, plastic and glass.

• All purchased corrugate contains a minimum of 60% post-consumer recycled content.

• 14.8% of our core products are environmentally preferable –this means they are made from recycled materials, green seal certified, energy star rated, energy efficient, non-toxic, or biodegradable, green-label certified to improve indoor air quality, SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) certified or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) trademarked.

At School Specialty we are proud of our efforts and accomplishments in environmental stewardship, and we recognize that they are just a start. Each day we learn more about what we can do to improve and enhance our efforts to protect and preserve our environment for the benefit of generations to come. Improving on our green strategy is a never-ending process.

Click here to find out more about our commitment to the environment.