HP Inc, a longtime leader in
the tech industry, has announced several bold commitments in its just-released
2019 Sustainable Impact
Report
— while also acknowledging that a lot more needs to be done collaboratively to
address the environmental and social challenges facing the US and the world.
Especially noteworthy are two commitments related to single-use plastics — a
growing concern globally, as evidence of the scale of plastic in our
oceans,
natural
environment,
and perhaps even our
bodies,
grows. HP aims to eliminate 75 percent of single-use plastic in its supply chain
by 2025, as compared to 2018; while also increasing its use of recycled
plastic
from 9 percent now to 30 percent — a goal that will necessitate the company
investing in plastic-recovery efforts.
“We need more recycling infrastructure in place,” Ellen Jackowski, HP’s
Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer, told Sustainable
Brands™. “Enabling recycling infrastructure across the globe is
something we all need to do, as companies continue to provide incentives and
processes for consumers to take action with us.”
Innovation will be key to meeting these goals. Currently, the packaging
materials that accompany HP printers and other office technology still contain a
significant amount of single-use plastic. The company is looking at replacing
this plastic with recycled, recyclable paper pulp molds; while also looking for
other sustainable materials for when paper-based molds won’t be sufficient to
protect products.
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“The goal is bold; it’s going to be hard work,” Jackowski said “There’s a lot of
innovation needed.”
HP has long been a sustainability leader in the IT industry. The company was
ranked #39 on Corporate Knights’ 2019 list of the 100 most sustainable
corporations,
ahead of competitors Alphabet (Google), Tesla, Samsung and
Panasonic. Even with its global scale and size — $58.3 billion in revenue
last year – HP only accounts for a tiny fraction of industry plastic use or
global ocean-bound plastic, and recognizes that industry- or society-wide change
is necessary for real impact.
“There’s a tremendous amount of work the world needs to do to stop plastic from
flowing into the ocean,” Jackowski said. In 2018, HP joined
NextWave
— a group of technology and consumer brands collaborating on how to decrease the
volume of plastic litter entering the ocean. “By joining NextWave, we were able
to share how we built a supply chain around ocean-bound plastics, and how were
we able to scale it.”
The report also highlights an important area where HP has lagged — the company
acknowledges that the number of Black employees at all levels of HP is below
where it needs to be. With protests taking place around the world against police
violence and systemic racism, the role of large
corporations
in ensuring that their workforce — and, in particular, their management and
leadership — reflects the surrounding society has become especially important.
“It’s clear with what is going on in the US and around the world, we haven’t
made enough progress on African-American hiring,” Jackowski admitted. “We need
to take action to improve.”
Jackowski noted that HP’s board of
directors
is the most diverse of any US technology company, with 58 percent of current
members being minorities. She also hopes that their partnership with
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) — which created the HP HBCU
Business
Challenge,
now in its fourth year — and with organizations including Black Girls
Code
can help more students gain the STEM skills for a career in the IT sector.
Furthermore, HP CEO Enrique Lores has committed to doubling the number of
Black people in executive positions by 2025. When the current wave of Black
Lives Matter protests began dominating the
public consciousness once again, the company also pledged $500,000 towards
social justice organizations fighting to end systemic
racism.
“This is an increasing focus,” Jackowski said. “We’re going to be measuring how
we are doing, and we need to hold ourselves accountable.”
As asserted by new Porter Novelli
research
released this week, it is likely that companies will no longer be judged on
commitments to diversity and sustainability, which have been around for years,
but substantive action to back up those commitments. HP has set ambitious goals
to reduce plastic and increase minority representation in the company. Now, it’s
up to them to follow through on their promises, and give peers a model for
achieving sustainable, equitable and measurable social and environmental
impacts.
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Media, Campaign and Research Consultant
Nithin is a freelance writer who focuses on global economic, and environmental issues with an aim at building channels of communication and collaboration around common challenges.
Published Jun 25, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST