HP released their annual climate change report back on June 20th and some of the findings are concerning. Morning Consult did the report, and it covers India, Mexico, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the US. One of the most concerning results in this report is that 91% of parents have concerns about the climate crisis, and 53% say that it makes having more children impractical. A whopping 64% of these parents are also choosing products that come from companies they believe are sustainable, but 84% are also concerned about the rise in the cost of living and that personal environmental practices take up a lot (maybe too much?) time.
HP uses this report to help prioritize its own climate efforts and generally leads its class of companies regarding their sustainability efforts. While most of this comes from their printer division which admittedly has the greatest opportunities for sustainability actions due to the nature of paper and ink cartridges, still the company continues to step up to the leadership position in their class.
Let’s talk about climate change and focus on HP’s efforts to make a difference this week.
HP’s Sustainability Goals and Progress
HP wants to be number one when it comes to sustainability and has set aggressive goals in three areas where executive management believes the company can make the biggest difference. These three areas are – Climate Action, Human Rights, and Digital Equity.
Against these goals, HP reports that it has reduced its carbon footprint by 18% since 2019 with a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. They have already reduced single-use plastic packaging by 55% showing impressive progress since 2018. Given paper contributes to deforestation, they have counteracted deforestation by 32% related to HP’s products so far toward their goal of 100%. (At a prior meeting I’d suggested they even look into Hemp paper instead of wood to accelerate this effort, as hemp is far more renewable than wood is but it is more expensive to make, a problem that HP might be able to correct).
In addition, HP has accelerated digital equity for more than 21 million people on a path to reach 150 by 20130. And they remain committed to building a pipeline of diverse talent with 46% of the new U.S. hires coming from racial or ethnic minorities.
It is interesting to note that HP’s sustainability efforts have a foundation in their founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard who believed there always is a better way, a smarter way, a more responsible way to do business and that reducing harm is part of that better approach to business. (I should note they still maintain the founders’ old offices, untouched, at their corporate headquarters. I’ve seen the offices and they feel like the founders just left for a short while and will return shortly; it is kind of surreal.)
This culture of doing more carries forward to their current CEO Enrique Lores who I’ve come to know is a caring, focused, and even-tempered CEO (something that is far more unusual than you’d think) and just a pleasant guy to talk to.
HP’s Most Sustainable Products
Like every tech company, there are products that set the bar in sustainability in HP’s portfolio. They include the HP Dragonfly and Elite 1000 Series PCs that contain 90% recycled magnesium, 5% ocean-borne plastics, and the use of used cooking oil to help lower CO2 emissions. In addition, their packaging is 100% sustainably sourced. With printers, the Color LaserJet Managed MFP E877 series of printers stand out as EPEAT Gold certified and they consume 17% less energy than their predecessors. In addition, they are built using 16% recycled plastics, and their supplies use 60% recycled plastics. And with 3D printing, they have made massive inroads in their ability to render body parts in 3D and create personal prosthetics for those that have lost a limb. One interesting product is they have a HP D100 Single-Cell Dispenser which is used for medical research.
Wrapping Up:
Kids learn from parents and if parents, as this report delineates, are making major decisions (including not to have more kids) these decisions will impact how kids grow up to view the world. These results suggest that the next generations will be far more focused on climate change, sustainability will have an even greater impact on their decisions ranging from what to buy to where to work, and that we are likely looking at even more aggressive climate actions from them in the future.
In the end, HP is doing its part, here is hoping everyone else follows their lead as we strive to make a better, cleaner, more inclusive, and diverse planet.
