After a successful pilot program, Canada’s leading office solutions provider Grand & Toy is now making the Boomerang Box™ – its reusable environmentally responsible shipping solution, available across Canada. The program is projected to reduce box consumption by 80 per cent among participating businesses.
The program’s pilot, launched last fall with 695 Grand & Toy Vancouver-based customers (representing 5,800 locations) and 23 BMO Financial Group locations in the Greater Toronto Area, has been a resounding success. Over the pilot period, the use of Boomerang Boxes saved more than 46,000 one-time use boxes. Stacked one on top of the other, they would be eight kilometres high, 15 times the height of the CN Tower.
“The success of the Boomerang Box pilot demonstrates that Canadian organizations are serious about their commitment to sustainability,” said Kevin Edwards, Vice President Marketing, U.S. & Canada, OfficeMax / Grand & Toy. “The Boomerang Box is just one of many Grand & Toy initiatives designed to help our customers lessen their environmental footprint.”
Customers save their empty Boomerang Boxes until they are picked up by Grand and Toy’s delivery staff on the next shipment. The Boomerang Box features a stackable design to minimize storage space needs, while the sturdy, corrugated material allows Grand & Toy to re-use Boomerang Boxes for an average of six to 10 delivery cycles with proper use. Each Boomerang Box has a unique barcode which allows it to be tracked throughout the shipping cycle and helps Grand & Toy analyze Boomerang Box adoption rates and usage trends.
“By partnering with Grand & Toy on this pilot, we saw an innovative opportunity to reduce waste at many of our Toronto branches and offices,” said Jim Johnston, director, environmental sustainability and compliance, BMO Financial Group. “The results of the pilot have been encouraging, and we look forward to expanding the program to all of our locations across Canada and the United States.”
Program eligibility requires each location maintain a 70 per cent return rate. The Boomerang Box is an opt-in program and there is no charge to join. For larger companies, with multiple locations, Grand & Toy offers the ability to choose which locations participate in the program. The Boomerang Box, which comes in three sizes, will also be available in the U.S. through Grand & Toy’s parent company, OfficeMax.
In an average year, Grand & Toy ships more than three million boxes to its customers.
Designed in partnership with Norampac, a privately owned packaging manufacturer based in Quebec, the Boomerang Box is an environmentally responsible shipping solution made from 63 per cent post-consumer recycled material. Boomerang Boxes are 100 per cent recyclable at the end of their box lifecycle.
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