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HP First to Display U.S. EPA SmartWay Logo

Company continues to reduce its environmental impact with consumer supply chain programs

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 18, 2008

HP today announced that it is the first company to receive approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the agency’s SmartWay logo displayed on a selection of its consumer product packaging for the compliance of its surface transportation network.

SmartWay is a freight industry program aimed at reducing fuel consumption, greenhouse gases and other air emissions.

In addition, HP is further reducing the environmental impact of the transport of its consumer notebook PCs, which are air shipped from China to consumers and retailers, with a pilot program using plastic shipping pallets.

“HP is not only reducing the impact of our own operations and products on the environment, but also working alongside industry partners, suppliers and regulatory bodies for an even broader global impact,” said Tony Prophet, senior vice president, Worldwide Supply Chain Operations, HP. “With HP’s broad portfolio and extensive partnerships, we believe our efforts are good for customers, good for business and good for the planet.”

SmartWay is a voluntary partnership between the EPA and the freight industry. The program’s goals are to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 33 million tons annually by 2012 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 200,000 tons annually, along with additional reductions in particulate matter and air toxins. The initiative will result in fuel savings up to 150 million barrels of oil annually – or the equivalent to removing 12 million cars from the road.

While the EPA has more than 700 SmartWay Transport Partners – HP became a partner in 2007 – HP today is the first company to have the SmartWay logo placed on its product packaging. In order to display the SmartWay logo, HP must certify its service transportation carrier network is using 100 percent SmartWay compliant carriers.

“I commend HP for their leadership in promoting sustainable transportation practices through the SmartWay Transport Partnership,” said Margo T. Oge, director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, U.S. EPA. “This demonstrates a commitment to a cleaner environment and more secure energy supply.”

SmartWay Transport Partners must commit to measure current environmental performance with the SmartWay Transport F.L.E.E.T. (Fleet Logistics Energy and Environmental Tracking) Performance Model for carriers, commit to improve that performance within three years and sign the SmartWay Transport Partnership Agreement.

In addition to meeting these requirements, HP undertook a thorough assessment of its logistics providers for its HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario consumer desktops, monitors and accessories and worked with them to meet the EPA requirements and even changing or temporarily eliminating partners that would not comply. As a result, 100 percent of the carriers for these products are now SmartWay partners, qualifying the products to carry the SmartWay logo.

Additional HP products are expected to soon qualify for the logo as well, as HP has a corporate-wide goal to increase use of SmartWay Transport Carriers for surface transportation of all of its products.

HP further reduces impact of consumer notebook transport

To further reduce the environmental impact of its U.S. consumer notebook transport, HP has begun a pilot program that ships notebooks on pallets made of recyclable plastic rather than wood.

Not only do plastic pallets avoid deforestation, but they also are significantly stronger, lighter and more durable than wooden pallets. In 2006, HP estimated that the use of plastic pallets for airfreight shipments in its existing full-program implementations in Europe and Latin America reduced its transportation CO2 footprint by more than seven metric tons, the equivalent of taking 150 cars off the road for a year.

HP’s program also includes recovery and recycling of the plastic pallets through its supplier, AIRDEX International Inc. The European program has been successful in capturing 98 percent of the plastic pallets for reuse or recycling.

“Our plastic pallets contribute to improved human welfare, not only from the direct environmental benefits of reduced CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and deforestation, but also due to the near impossibility of the ultra-light AIRDEX pallet to cause harm to air cargo workers in any way,” said Vance Seagle, founder and chief executive officer, AIRDEX International Inc. “The AIRpallet cargo safety record is a well-proven cost saver combined with the elimination of aircraft cargo bay damage so common when using wood pallets.”

All of HP’s major retail partners in the United States have agreed to participate in the pilot program, which began April 1.

Designing PCs with the environment in mind

HP’s longstanding design for the environment program not only focuses on social and environmental responsibility in its supply chain, but also on improving product energy efficiency, materials innovation and recyclability.

For example, HP leads the industry in the number of Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT™) Gold listed products. The EPEAT registry is an easy-to-use tool designed to help shoppers evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on the number of environmental features attributed to a product. EPEAT evaluates electronic products according to three tiers of environmental performance: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

In addition, HP has set a goal to eliminate all remaining uses of brominated flame retardant (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from new computing products launched in 2009 by implementing technologically feasible alternatives as they become readily available. These alternative materials are designed to avoid adversely impacting people’s health or the environment, without compromising product performance or quality.

The company also recently committed to reducing the energy consumption(1) of its volume PC portfolio by 25 percent by 2010(2) by deploying a variety of energy-efficient strategies, including integrating components such as more efficient power supplies and lower-energy chipsets, as well as other energy-saving technologies and processes.

HP and the environment

For decades HP has worked to manage its environmental impact by adopting environmentally responsible practices in product development, operations and supply chain. The company strives to be a global leader in reducing its carbon footprint, limiting waste and recycling responsibly. HP’s efforts earned it recognition as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Ten Green Giants” in April 2007. More information about the company’s work in relation to the environment is available at www.hp.com/environment.

About HP

HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $107.7 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.


(1) Energy consumption is defined as watts consumed in “idle” mode (using the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR® test protocol). The improvement will be calculated by averaging the energy consumption of the desktop and notebook platforms across shipped volume.

(2) By 2010, HP plans to reduce the energy consumption of volume desktop and notebook PC families by 25 percent, relative to 2005.


Energy Star is a U.S. registered mark of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected results; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2008 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

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