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For HP, environmental sustainability means much more than the recycling of products. Over the years, HP has adopted what it refers to as 'life-cycle' thinking — a company-wide commitment to addressing environmental performance in each part of the product life cycle from product inception and design through to its manufacture, use and disposal.
It is the strength of this commitment that has made the company a pioneer and world leader in the development and provision of environmentally sustainable products and services.
The first step in the 'life cycle' is design — a process which has its origins in the company's 'Design for Environment' program, developed over 13 years ago. Fundamental to the program are HP Product Stewards who work closely with product designers and R&D teams to continually develop and implement environmental design innovations and improvements.
The Design for Environment program has three essential priorities when developing and manufacturing products: materials innovation; energy efficiency; and design for recyclability.
In the first instance, HP decided it needed to economise on the use of materials in the design and construction of its products. Essentially, do less with more.
The DeskJet 3740 is the perfect example of this. Weighing in at a mere 4.5 pounds this entry-level printer is one of a series developed on a single platform and sharing common parts. This leaner, smarter printer platform will reduce materials use by more than 26,000 pounds over a four-year period.
HP is also making a concerted effort to use alternative materials in much of their manufacturing. Some HP products for example are currently being manufactured containing parts made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET), material consisting of plastic from recycled HP cartridges and recycled plastic drinking bottles, replacing virgin plastic.
HP is also taking steps to eliminate other chemicals such as cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium and others in all of its electronic products by 2006.
But it's no good having environmentally-sound materials if the products are not energy efficient.
Across the board HP is working to significantly reduce the amount of energy used by its range of products.
More than 1000 HP products are Energy Star qualified. Energy Star is a U.S. government-sponsored voluntary energy efficiency program adopted by a number of countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and Korea. In addition to this, many products carry regional labels for the Asia Pacific and Japan.
In Japan, 483 HP products have qualified for the country's PC Green Label. The eco-label was established by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association to identify products that incorporate environmentally conscious product design, manufacturing and end-of-life disposal.
Similarly, in Taiwan, 117 HP products qualify for the Green Mark certificate, which promotes recycling, pollution reduction and resource conservation. HP was the first foreign IT company to receive such recognition.
But it is in the area of recycling, both in design for recyclability and end-of-life disposal, where HP's commitment and contribution to environmental sustainability is most prominent.
In 2004, HP developed a tool to help its worldwide product designers assess product recyclability at the design stage and help track product line improvements. This tool was made a feature of HP's Design for Recyclability standards.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to recycling its range of products, not only is HP well-prepared, it is leading the way in end-of-life management and disposal.
In Asia Pacific alone HP collected approximately 1170 tonnes of computer hardware for recycling in the first 3 quarters of 2005 — more than twice the volume of the previous year.
This impressive feat has been facilitated in part by HP's Planet Partners return and recycling initiative, officially launched in 1991 to recycle HP LaserJet printer cartridges. The program was expanded to include HP InkJet cartridges in 1997. Last year, Planet Partners collected and recycled approximately 54,800 tonnes of used products worldwide.
In Australia and in China, HP has extended its environmental initiatives to include a close relationship with local NGOs. HP is a foundation sponsor of 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark', a program that has so far helped to divert more than 1 million cartridges from landfill in Australia. In China the 'Cartridges 4 Dragon Recycling' program aims to do the same through school, university and community involvement.
HP is also working with national governments to develop community return and recycling programs. For example HP has worked with Singapore's National Environmental Agency (NEA) to promote consumer e-waste collection. HP and other program partners provided operational and financial support for the project to supply schools and community centres with recycling bins. The program reached over half a million residents.
No stone is left unturned in HP's quest for better environmental practices, including:
• innovations in packaging;
• using recycled paper at its operations facilities globally;
• implementing a raft of internal recycling programs;
• reducing hazardous waste; and
• monitoring and benchmarking the environmental performance of suppliers to HP.
With such concern for the future prosperity of the environment, it's little wonder HP has attracted so much praise from community, government and environmental bodies. In 2004/05, Corporate Citizenship Awards were awarded to HP Korea and HP Singapore; HP was ranked in the top ten for Corporate Social Responsibility in Australia & New Zealand, as well as the top ten for the Accountability Rating (the global index that evaluates the environmental performance of the world's 100 largest companies); and in January this year HP was named on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list for positive impact on society and the environment.
Accolades and honor rolls aside, HP looks to the future with an unwavering determination to environmental performance and a commitment, not only to improve its business practice though better life-cycle management, but for the benefit of the environment as well.
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