HP lays the groundwork to bolster sustainability

February 14, 2019

At the Innovation for Sustainable Impact Summit held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, HP outlined its blueprint for Sustainable Impact, aimed at helping organisations in Latin America and around the world shape a more efficient, circular, low-carbon economy.

At the event, the company outlined its plans to achieve an ambitious goal to recycle 1.2 million tonnes of hardware and supplies by 2025 – a 5X increase over its current rate – via continued innovation throughout its product portfolio, go-to-market model and sustainable supply chain with partners across Latin America.

HP also announced a new e-cartridge fulfilment partnership with Kalunga, an office supplies provider based in Brazil. The program is the first of its kind in the region, allowing consumers to sign up for automated replacement of toner and ink cartridges, at a 15 percent discount with free shipping*.

“At HP, we are 100 percent focused on ensuring we do our part to preserve the planet for generations to come,” said Nate Hurst, HP’s Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer. “The manufacturing, delivery and use of HP products requires a substantial amount of natural resources. With one of the industry’s largest global supply chains, HP has a unique opportunity to have a sizable sustainable impact through the design, sourcing and recovery of our products, and to help accelerate progress toward a global circular economy.”

HP’s Sustainable Impact strategy is prioritised across three key pillars:

Planet

HP states it is committed to developing and delivering an environmentally sustainable product portfolio, improving the sustainability of global operations and partnering with suppliers to reduce their environmental impact. The company’s vision is to transform its entire business to drive a more efficient, circular, and low-carbon economy and enabling customers to reinvent the future through HP’s sustainable portfolio of products and services.

Over the last five years, HP Brazil has collected and recycled more than 5,000 tonnes of end-of-life HP products and manufactured more than 8.2M printers with recycled content. HP Brazil’s closed-loop solutions on plastic require less energy to produce than virgin plastic and cost 15-32 percent less. In 2018, the HP Ink Tank printer manufactured in Brazil contained 20 percent recycled content. HP’s goal is to reach 32 percent recycled content by 2020.

In 2018, HP Planet Partners Brazi recycled more than 797 tonnes of HP products. The HP Planet Partners program is now available in 76 countries and territories worldwide, including eight countries in Latin America and Puerto Rico. 

People

Regardless of the industry, employees want to be involved in meaningful initiatives, inspired by their day-to-day tasks, and work for organisations reflecting their personal values – these are core elements of an engaged workforce. According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board, engaged employees put forward 57 percent more effort at work and are 87 percent less likely to resign from their current company.

HP says it is reinventing the standard for Diversity & Inclusion and is committed to having a workforce that reflects its customer base. This includes diversity of thought, age, gender and nationality. Approximately 160 women graduated from the Women in Action leadership development and mentorship program in Guadalajara, Mexico and the program just rolled out in Brazil.

“Across our supply chain,” declares the OEM, “HP works to enable all people who help bring our products to market to thrive at work, at home and in their communities. We established a goal to develop the skills and improve the well-being of 500,000 factory workers by 2025 and in FY17, we achieved 49 percent of this goal.”

Community

HP combines social impact programs and partnerships with products and solutions to provide technology-enabled inclusive learning. HP asserts its ambition to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025, with a focus on preparing learners with the skills to succeed in the future economy.

HP LIFE, a program of the HP Foundation, provides 30 free business and IT skills courses in seven languages, including Spanish and Portuguese. By 2025, HP LIFE aims to enroll 1M users in courses focused on career and workforce readiness. Through 2017, HP LIFE has reached more than 100,000 people across Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and Peru.

As outlined in HP’s 2017 Sustainable Impact Report, significant progress is being made across all pillars:

• Drove a 38 percent year-over-year increase in deals where sustainability was a key differentiator

        o    More than $700 million (€621.1 million) in new business

• Achieved goal of using 40 percent renewable electricity in its global operations
• Sourced more than 250 tonnes of ocean-bound plastic from Haiti for use in closed-loop recycling

        o    Equivalent to 12 million bottles

• Produced more than 3.8 billion HP ink and toner cartridges using recycled plastic through 2017

        o    From > 784M recovered cartridges, 86M apparel hangers and 4B plastic bottles

• Recovered 3,200 tonnes of plastic from recycled electronics for use in its printers

        o    Via U.S. partnership with Best Buy

• Collected and recycled 5M tons of end-of-life HP products in Brazil from 2012 – 2018

        o    At HP’s Innovation and Recycling Centre in Sorocaba-São Paulo

• Today, more than 80 percent of HP ink cartridges now contain 45-70 percent recycled content

        o    100 percent of HP toner cartridges contain 5-38 percent recycled content

• Achieved 8-percent increase year-over-year in Diversity hires

        o    Up to 34.5 percent in 2017

• Drove 6.5-percent increase in women holding leadership positions

        o    Up to 28.2 percent in 2017

• Served >14.5 million students and adult learners through HP solutions

        o    Advancing quality education and digital literacy

HP Commitment to Sustainable Impact

HP says it aims to drive lasting improvements for the planet, people and communities.

“We engineer with integrity, ensuring all products and operations are based on the highest ethical standards,” comments the company, adding, “We are committed to full circle innovation that improves performance, reduces waste and powers a circular and low carbon economy. And we inspire impact, creating opportunities and enabling action to achieve a more just, equitable and inclusive society.” 

Categories : Around the Industry

Tags : Brazil CSR HP Summit Sustainability