Growing Our Environmental Impact
This past year has been a story of growth for QC Office.
Between 2022 and 2023, we almost doubled the number of businesses we served, jumping from 370 to 698. We added a sales representative in Phoenix to ensure that customers in Maricopa County (primarily the state government) had the support they needed.
Our increased sales also reflect how we’ve gotten the word out about what might be one of our best-kept secrets – we’re not just suppliers of toners and copy paper.
There are more than 100,000 products available from QC Office, including almost 4,000 items you can use to furnish your office, lobby, or conference room.
As the social enterprise arm of Quality Connections, our products are available to our customers with no sales tax, representing a substantial savings, particularly if you are buying a desk, credenza, filing cabinet, or suite of lobby furniture, like the one we supplied and installed for College America’s librarian (pictured at left).
Another area where we have grown is in our environmental impact. Because of our commitment to reducing, reusing, and refurbishing, almost 15 tons of e-waste was recycled last year, meaning that it wasn’t consigned to our state’s overburdened landfills. The total amount of e-waste recycled grew an astounding 38% in the past year, from 21,292 pounds in 2022 to 29,349 pounds in 2023.
Our commitment to customers and the environment has won QC Office recognition from Flagstaff Business News, which presented us with a Best of Business award in 2022, and the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, who named us Green Business of the Year Award in 2023.
There’s one more reason why purchasing your workplace supplies is rewarding at QC Office, beyond the excellent products, tax savings, and environmental impact of using our services.
It’s the people.
The primary reason that QC Office was created was to support Quality Connections mission to provide individuals with disabilities with the opportunity to work and become more independent.
The 18 people with disabilities who are employed by QC Office make up 75% of our workforce. They take orders, help with deliveries, and are part of every aspect of our operation.
People like Manuel Sanchez. In October of 2000, Manuel was in a car accident that resulted in severe traumatic brain injury and the loss of the use of the left side of his body.
Manuel came to Flagstaff in 2002 to live with family and continue his long-term rehabilitation. A few years later, he joined us at QC Office and became our foremost expert in remanufacturing toner cartridges.
Manuel is also an excellent example of how a slight accommodation can remove a barrier to work.
On his workbench, Manuel has a wooden jig that holds toner cartridges. This allows him to work on remanufacturing them using just his right hand.
When he first started, Manuel was only working on one type of toner cartridge. But when QC Office was awarded a State Set-Aside contract for all remanufactured cartridges by the state government in 2016, his work went from one line of cartridges to 16 different types!
In 2023, the State of Arizona mandated that all its ink and toner supplies would be purchased from QC Office. We know that part of the reason we won such an important contract is the hard work and consistent performance by Manuel in remanufacturing cartridges.
For his part, Manuel says he enjoys both his job and his co-workers at QC Office.
“Working at Quality Connections for the past 15 years has been an excellent experience!” he said. “Rebuilding printer cartridges has been great work for me, allowing me to concentrate and focus on my work without any unneeded pressure. The team I work with at QC deserves a 10 out of 10!”
We need Quality Connections . . . like you!
You can help individuals with disabilities become independent and productive members of our community. There are many way to be a ‘Quality Connection’ and get involved and all of them are important:
Every purchase from QC Office equals employment and job training opportunities for a person with disabilities.
Enable a person with disabilities to become a productive member of our community.
You’ll be doing good. Plus, you’ll get a dollar-for-dollar credit on your AZ state taxes (up to $800!)
One Response
Great story about Manuel. Keep up the good work!