As the world struggles with the impact of climate change, a key area of concern is sustainability, reducing the use of non-renewable resources in favour of sustainable alternatives. While some businesses are only now coming to terms with the need for change, we have led the way for decades on sustainable business practices and eco-friendly technology.
Let's take a deep dive into how we are helping our customers make more sustainable purchasing decisions without compromising on the performance of your tech solutions. As a result, we can help you continue to work and play while reducing your environmental footprint.
Introduction to HP's commitment to sustainability
Here at HP, we recognise that all activities have an environmental impact, and we're on a mission to reduce ours across our entire value chain. Our challenging list of Climate Action goals includes year-on-year reductions in our carbon footprint as measured in tonnes of CO2 produced and reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040.
We have mapped out specific sustainable impact goals divided into Planet, People, and Community pillars. These goals encompass our complete ecosystem, protecting and empowering people and communities and environmental protection and restoration.
We pride ourselves on practising sustainability and striving to make year-on-year improvements. Our philosophy follows the line of less talk and more action. We also have an open book policy, so the results of our sustainability programmes are available for inspection. In addition, we track and report progress against these goals each year in our annual Sustainable Impact Report so you can see HP's environmental impact for yourself.
Sustainability in HP's operations
We are leading the way for other businesses to follow when it comes to eco-friendly technology. We're currently the only tech company to receive a triple "A" rating from the not-for-profit charity Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in recognition of our actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy and programmes to manage deforestation risk and water security in operations and supply chain, as well as the strength of the company's reporting and disclosure of our environmental impact.
Energy-efficient operations
One of the critical approaches to meeting GHG reduction goals is the implementation of energy-efficient operations within the business and along the entire supply chain. These initiatives include improvements in the efficiency of manufacturing processes and product transportation.
The HP and partner energy efficiency programmes are estimated to have reduced electric power consumption by 992 million kWh since 2010, equating to avoiding the emission of over 1.46 million tonnes of CO2 in this period.
Waste management and recycling initiatives
We have a long history of implementing recycling in our processes and products. For example, an initiative by one of our employees in 1966 resulted in the company actively recycling the paper punch cards used for programming early computers. Subsequently, by 1987 we had an established hardware recycling programme.
Then in 1991, we formed HP Planet Partners to focus on waste reduction. This initiative has enabled the reuse or recycling of over 1 billion kilograms of products and is now operating across 76 countries and territories worldwide. This programme also includes the refurbishment of hardware to extend the generational life cycle of our products.
Our recycling initiatives include the advanced facility in Haiti that processes and reuses ocean-bound plastics. As a result, we have retrieved over 110 million ocean-bound plastic bottles and reused this material in our products.
Our current goal is to reach zero waste across all our business operations by 2025, and we're on track to achieve this goal by this fast-approaching deadline.
Eco-friendly product design and manufacturing
Use of recycled and renewable materials
One of the key areas we addressed for renewable materials was paper usage, particularly our branded printer paper products. As a result, we achieved and maintained our goal of zero deforestation for HP brand paper in 2016 and currently have achieved 80% for paper-based packaging.
We are also undertaking a range of initiatives in support of our HP Planet Partners programme and its ongoing goals to recycle and refurbish hardware. We aim to eliminate over 75% of the single-use plastics in our product packaging by 2025. We also aim to include over 30% of post-consumer recycled plastics by weight across our personal systems and print product portfolio.
One of the main challenges for these initiatives was the reduced use of single-use plastics in product packaging. However, there was no simple alternative, so we created an innovative approach using moulded fibre packaging to replace plastics. This solution has been so successful that it's being adopted by packaging manufacturers worldwide, offering faster and more flexible packaging options with the added benefit of sustainable optimisation of materials.
Energy-efficient products
Early in our sustainability journey, we recognised that creating energy-efficient products is a great way to introduce sustainability benefits to our customers. More efficient products are cheaper to run, but they also mean less energy generation is needed to run them. This takes sustainability back through the power lines to the power stations, and less demand means less GHG generation.
Eco-friendly HP products are energy-efficient, carrying the ENERGY STAR® logo. This mark means they are certified as meeting higher energy efficiency standards with a reduced carbon footprint. Estimates are that ENERGY STAR-certified products worldwide helped cut emissions of 330 million tonnes of GHG in 2018.
Noteworthy sustainable products in the HP UK store
HP sustainable laptops
The HP Elite Dragonfly series are high-performance ultra-lightweight business laptops perfect for mobile working. They come with brilliant displays, advanced audio features, and advanced connectivity options, including an in-built 5G capability. They also have extensive advanced security features to protect sensitive corporate information.
The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 13.5-inch laptop comes with an Intel® Core™ i7 12th Generation processor, an impressive 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), a 13.5-inch widescreen ultra extended graphics array (WUXGA) resolution touch screen and a 5G connectivity in a package that weighs less than 1 kg.
Shop HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Laptop Now
However, these state-of-the-art laptops are also at the forefront of our drive towards sustainable production practices. For example, the HP Elite Dragonfly laptops were the world's first notebooks made using ocean-bound plastics processed in our advanced recycling infrastructure in Haiti.
HP recycled bags
Our HP Renew range has fantastic options if you are looking for a new bag to keep your laptop safe as you travel around. The main materials we use for these bags are 100% recycled ocean-bound plastics, while we source all the tags, strings and stuffing from 100% recycled and biodegradable materials.
Our HP Renew Recycled bag for business is a highly comfortable bag that offers secure carriage for laptops up to 15.6-inch in size. Its recycled materials don't mean a compromise in features. This bag includes an RFID pocket that protects your credit cards from scanners while double-coil, lockable zippers and slip pockets keep your possessions secure.
Shop HP Renew Recycled Business Bag Now
Our HP Renew range includes tote bags, laptop sleeves, shoulder bags and backpacks.
HP sustainable monitors
If you need an external monitor, the HP M27 FHD IPS USB-C Webcam Monitor offers excellent performance with its full high definition (FHD) 27-inch screen with an impressive 5 ms response time. In addition, its design focuses on ease of use and outstanding comfort levels without compromising image quality.
However, the elegant design hides the monitor's sustainability secret. Around 85% by weight of the materials used in the monitor case and stand are post-consumer recycled plastics, of which around 5% are from ocean-bound plastics. Additionally, we supply the monitor in sustainably sourced and recyclable packaging.
The impact of HP's sustainability efforts in the UK
We are also involved in restoring and protecting biodiversity in the UK, including our tree planting initiative in the Mersey Forest as part of our Forest Positive framework. We recognise that forests are a critical means of helping combat climate change and that action is needed to counter the threats facing nearly half of the world's forests today.
Our approach to forest conservation goes beyond tree planting, and we use our partnerships with recognised environmental organisations to guide business practices to reduce environmental impact and support a science-based approach to forest conservation.
We've placed sustainability as an integral part of our product design process to develop solutions that reduce waste and increase recycled content as we produce green tech in the UK.
You can read more about the sustainable impact of our eco-friendly technology in the UK.
Summary
We aim to be the world's most sustainable and just tech company - taking urgent action to combat climate change, protect human rights, and accelerate digital equity. However, we also involve our entire supply chain in these endeavours, forming an integral part of the sustainable tech industry.
Discover more about our product repair, reuse, and recycling programmes that form part of our efforts to create a more circular, low-carbon economy for our eco-friendly technology. Check out our HP Planet Partners product return and recycling scheme in the UK for more information.
About the Author
Stephen Mash is a contributing writer for HP Tech Takes. Stephen is a UK-based freelance technology writer with a cybersecurity and risk management background.
