HP Innovation Journal Special Edition: Sustainable Impact | Page 21

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 working 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 economy. In building a
more sustainable “make, use, reuse” model for our products,
our partners will have an important 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 in-store 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 hangers and plastic
bottles to manufacture new, high-quality print cartridges.
Partnerships That are Good for Business and the Planet
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 customers to
purchase more sustainable products.
For example, working closely with Best Buy, we leveraged
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.
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 percent 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 customers 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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