Today, HP Inc. announced several new commitments with the release of its latest Sustainability Report. The company met the 20 percent emissions reduction targets it set for its operations and supply chain five years early, and set three new goals for 2020. Among these is a new zero deforestation commitment, which will involve sourcing all HP brand paper and paper-based product packaging from certified and recycled sources by 2020, with a preference for virgin fiber from certified sources of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
According to Forest500, only 8 percent of companies have an overarching zero or zero-net deforestation commitment. HP’s zero deforestation pledge adds the company to that group, and builds on its progress; in 2015, HP achieved the public forestry goal of 50 percent FSC-certified fiber in HP brand paper products. Moving forward, the company plans to work with WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network-North America (GFTN-NA) to reduce fiber sourcing risks for products and packaging, source more responsibly, and engage suppliers as partners.
“HP’s efforts to lead the way on eliminating deforestation from its paper products and packaging are commendable,” said Linda Walker, Director of Responsible Forestry & Trade at WWF-US. “This is a leadership-level goal within HP’s broader sustainability commitments.”
In 2015, HP also saved $9 million thanks to packaging innovations for printing and personal systems products, by effectively reducing 5,700 tonnes of packaging material compared to previous-generation products. The packaging improvement projects were estimated to avoid 12,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The new zero deforestation goal includes the box that comes with each product and all paper (including packaging and materials) inside the box.
HP’s achievements and goals are not limited to packaging. In fact, in his letter at the beginning of the new report, CEO Dion Weisler wrote, “I’m proud to say that HP is taking action on 16 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The breadth of our sustainability programs is evidence of our commitment.”
The company has pledged to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity within global operations with an interim goal of achieving 40 percent worldwide by 2020.
HP’s third new goal is to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of HP’s product portfolio by 25 percent by 2020, compared to 2010. More than 95 percent of the product units HP ships each year will be included towards this target, including notebooks, tablets, desktops, mobile computing devices, workstations, and scanners, as well as HP inkjet, LaserJet, and DesignJet printers. The calculations will reflect anticipated usage, such as energy consumed during customer use, and the energy and paper consumed to print each page.
The company claims it was the first in the IT industry to set GHG emission reduction goals across its operations, supply chain and products.
“Climate change is the most challenging environmental issue of our lifetime,” said Nate Hurst, HP’s Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer. “HP is committed to being an environmental steward; therefore, we continue to measure and reduce the impact of our products, operations and supply chain activities.”
Among other highlights of its achievements in 2015, the company engaged 78,000 supplier factory workers to promote wellness and enhance their skills, and 92 percent of the smelters in its supply chain are conflict-free or “on their way to becoming conflict-free.”
HP was recently ranked first among 20 of the world’s largest ICT companies for its action against forced labor in a benchmark by KnowTheChain. The company’s overall score of 72 was a full 10 points ahead of the next highest score, which was earned by Apple.
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Published Jun 29, 2016 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST