HP Innovation Journal Issue 09: Spring 2018 | Page 43

Sustainability
C H R I S TO P H SC H E LL
Pre sid e nt a n d M a n aging D ire c to r, A m e ric as , H P
S TE P H A N I E D I S M O R E
Vice President and G eneral Manager, Americas Channels , H P
There is an aphorism that states, “a rising tide lifts all
boats.” The phrase, popularized by U.S. President John
F. Kennedy, describes the idea that when an economy
is doing well, everyone participating in that economy
benefits.
That same philosophy can be applied to sustainability.
For example, when we improve air quality by reducing
the emission of pollutants, people everywhere can—both
literally and figuratively—breathe easier.
In business, sustainability efforts can produce similar
results, by reducing environmental impacts, improving
working conditions, and opening up greater economic
opportunities. All of which positively impact the lives of
people around the world.
Forward-thinking companies recognize the long-term
benefits of sustainability to themselves, their partners,
and their customers—and have embedded sustainability
into their business strategies. They also know that work-
ing with liked-minded companies can only strengthen
their efforts, while demonstrating to other businesses
that sustainability is a winning proposition.
Building a More Circular Economy
At HP, we are reinventing the way our products are
designed, manufactured, used, and recovered, as we
strive to create a more efficient, low-carbon circular econ-
omy. In building a more sustainable “make, use, reuse”
model for our products, our partners will have an import-
ant role to play.
Retail partners like Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot,
Office Max, and Walmart work closely with us to market
and sell our energy-efficient lines of personal systems
and printers via their retail outlets and online stores.
They also help us close the loop by offering instore take-
back and recycling services for our print cartridges and/
or hardware through the HP Planet Partners program.
In recent months, this program has expanded to include
Samsung toner cartridges.
Through the HP Planet Partners program, returned
ink and toner cartridges become part of our closed-loop
recycling process, in which recycled plastic from those
cartridges is mixed with plastic from used apparel hang-
ers and plastic bottles to manufacture new, high-quality
print cartridges.
For many of these retailers, recycling programs are
one way to improve brand loyalty. For example, Staples—
the first retail partner to establish “drop-off” points for
used HP ink and toner cartridges—made the HP Planet
Partners program part of its customer loyalty initiative.
Over the years, we have continued to partner with
retailers to expand our closed-loop recycling processes,
and help them meet the growing demands of their cus-
tomers to purchase more sustainable products.
For example, working closely with Best Buy, we lev-
eraged Best Buy’s in-store recycling program and set up
a supply chain to ensure that printers returned to Best
Buy are recycled to meet certain specifications, so that
the plastics can be refined and used as raw material in the
manufacturing of new HP printers. This effort resulted
in the introduction of the HP ENVY Photo 6200, 7100,
and 7800 printers, the world’s first-in-class printers made
with closed-loop recycled plastic. (See “Closing the Loop
with Plastic,” page 46 in this issue.)
The HP ENVY printers represent what we refer to as “a
complete printing system backed by sustainable design.”
In addition to their recycled materials, these printers
use Original HP ink cartridges made with 48 to 73 per-
cent closed-loop recycled plastic, and customers can use
HP paper that contains 100 percent certified fiber or
recycled content.
Partnerships like these help HP propel our circular
economy strategy by delivering products that enable cus-
tomers to do more and consume less.
Supporting our Partners’ Sustainability Efforts
HP’s sustainability partnerships are about more than just
selling and recycling products. We believe that through
collaboration, we can help our partners and our company
improve efficiencies and environmental sustainability in
our operations and global supply chains.
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