Honours for HP’s Environmental Performance

Recycling the equivalent of the weight of 280 jumbo airliners in HP products in 2005 is just one of the reasons HP received a silver award for Most Environmentally Progressive Vendor in Canada at the Environmental Printing Awards on February 21. A process developed at HP’s request by partner DistribuTech also won a gold award for Most Progressive Environmental Process.

The annual awards are presented by PrintAction magazine to recognize environmental stewardship across the Canadian printing industry, including technological initiatives by vendors and progressive decisions by clients. The gala event featured former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky.

Most Environmentally Progressive Vendor is given to a company that has a “holistic strategy to lessen its harmful environmental impact.” Last year, HP received a gold award in this category, recognizing that HP products are designed upfront to maximize the potential for recycling at end of life.

The award recognized that HP’s strategy focuses on reducing the environmental impact of its products and services throughout their life, with emphasis on three areas:

1.    Energy Efficiency

• More than 90 HP printers qualify for Canada’s Environmental Choice certification.
• More than 1,000 products (including new business PCs) qualify for the new Energy Star standard that will take effect this summer.
• HP’s new Dynamic smart cooling server energy management system promises up to 40% savings in cooling costs. 
• A joint venture with World Wildlife Fund (announced in November) will reduce HP’s greenhouse gas emissions from operating facilities worldwide
  

2.    An Environmentally Responsible Supply Chain

• HP helps reduce energy consumption by using more energy efficient transportation and packaging.
• HP regularly audits and works with suppliers to make sure they meet HP’s high standards of social and environmental responsibility. 
• HP was the first electronics company to establish a policy and code of conduct that extends our social and environmental commitment to our suppliers. 
• HP helped lead development of the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct, fostering responsible management and operational practices in labour, human rights, health, safety, the environment and ethics across the industry’s global supply chain.
  

3.    Leadership in End-of-life Options

• HP products are designed to use less energy, are made with fewer materials and are easier to upgrade or reuse.
• Once the product is no longer needed, HP offers such programs as product buy-back, trade-in, leasing and recycling, accepting some 2.5 million units worldwide through these programs. 
• In 2005, HP worldwide recycled over 140 million pounds of used products – the weight of 280 jumbo airliners. With a further 164 million pounds recycled in 2006, HP is on track to recycle one billion pounds of equipment and supplies by the end of 2007.

Most Progressive Environmental Process recognizes a technology or process for printing companies to reduce or eliminate practices harmful to the environment. Canadian HP partner DistribuTech won the award for a program developed for HP’s Technology Services Group.

“We are thrilled to be recognized with an award that underscores our commitment to the environment and our close partnership with HP Canada,” said DistribuTech president David Reeve as he accepted the award. “We couldn’t have won this award without HP’s vision and support.”

The marketing innovation was born when several huge boxes of returned mail dropped on the desk of Sandra Pakosh, Manager, Marketing Communications. “It was disturbing to see so much paper and money going to waste,” Sandra says. “It was also obvious that after the HP-Compaq merger, our database needed work to purge duplicate records.”

Under HP’s direction, DistribuTech came up with a solution. By consolidating mail to one return address and using barcodes to identify marketing campaigns, HP could monitor individual campaign results as well as track and purge incorrect addresses to reduce returned mail.

The results were impressive:

• Returned mail dropped to 5% from 15% between January 2005 and November 2006.
• Total waste saved: more than 16,000 mailers, the equivalent of about 73 trees.

“The print industry realizes that companies can reduce our environmental footprint while remaining profitable, and these awards recognize that HP’s environmental programs are grounded in substance,” says Lloyd Bryant, VP and general manager for HP’s Imaging & Printing Group.