Noel Leeming Commits To Building A Cleaner NZ

MEDIA RELEASE
28 March 2008

Noel Leeming Commits To Building A Cleaner New Zealand

Noel Leeming is committed to helping New Zealanders build a cleaner and greener environment. The leading appliance and electronics store is working on a number of environmental initiatives which will involve recycling mobile phones and whiteware, reducing power consumption and safely disposing of packaging.

The company’s environmental program kicked off this year with the EECA agreement, signed in February, where Noel Leeming became the first retail partner to EECA’s ENERGY STAR scheme. ENERGY STAR is an independent, international labeling programme that identifies the most energy-efficient consumer electronics and home appliances. It is administered and promoted in New Zealand by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). As an ENERGY STAR retail partner, all Noel Leeming products that qualify for ENERGY STAR will carry a label and be clearly visible throughout all stores. In choosing ENERGY STAR appliances, Noel Leeming customers will save electricity, save money and benefit the environment.

The eco-conscious company has also adopted a nationwide mobile phone recycling program. The initiative began in November 2007 and operates in every Noel Leeming and Bond + Bond store throughout the country. Noel Leeming has teamed up with Vodafone to encourage consumers to recycle their old mobile phones, mobile batteries and accessories by depositing them in the in-store units. Any brand of mobile or network is accepted and can be recycled to become traffic cones, bin liners, buckets, saucepans and jewelry. Phones which are still in good working order may be refurbished and reused in the developing world, where someone else may benefit from their use.
Justine Percival of Vodafone comments, “Over 90 percent of the materials in mobiles can be recycled and recovered to make new products and we want to encourage as many people as possible to get those old mobiles, batteries and accessories out of drawers and back to work, either as mobile phones or as something else. We are pleased to be on-board with Noel Leeming assisting them with their environmental initiatives.”

Noel Leeming is also committed to reducing the amount of waste produced by discarded packaging and plastic bags. Currently all stores are transitioning to a system with Waste Mangement where all cardboard, polystyrene and plastic pacakging is collected from stores and recycled.

When it comes to delivering new whiteware products, Noel Leeming will remove your old product to make sure that it is disposed of safely. The store works very closely with Fisher & Paykel to ensure that all products are recycled. For example, your old fridge can be de-gased safely with all the scrap metal being sent to the recycling plant to be reused to help produce other whiteware products.

The company is also currently running TV and fridge trade-in promotions. Consumers can trade in their old TV or fridge for a more up to date, energy efficient model and save some money on many of the attractive trade in deals. Customers can bring their old TV’s or fridges for trade-in into store to be collected for recycling, or alternatively, when customers have their new purchase delivered Noel Leeming will remove the trade-in items for recycling. Televisions are being recycled by RCN Remarketing Specialists who are based in Albany and all whiteware trade-ins are being collected and recycled by Fisher & Paykel.

Noel Leeming Group CEO, Andrew Dutkiewicz says, “As the leading electronics retailer, we are keen to help build a cleaner and safer environment for New Zealanders. We have a commitment to social corporate responsibility and are focused on helping improve our environment by implementing some simple, yet very effective measures to encourage our customers to recycle. We will continue to look at ways in which we can dispose of products or packaging in the safest way possible to ensure we can fulfill our pledge to building a greener New Zealand.”

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