HP Interviewed On Corporate Responsibility Rating
by Dave Bell

Hewlett-Packard came out on top in a Corporate Responsibility Rating of the eight leading international computer manufacturers, conducted by Munich-based Oekom Research AG last year. In an exclusive interview with green-techZONE's Dave Bell, HP's Director of Global Public Policy, David Isaacs, talks about the company's environmental programs, as well as its position on California's attempts at computer recycling legislation.

analogZONE: What is HP doing on the environmental front that rates a high rating for corporate responsibility?

HP: Our ranking on this survey is probably attributable to our strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, and the depth and breadth of our actions in this area, including efforts to bridge the digital divide globally, promote environmental sustainability, and undertake corporate philanthropy and community engagement.

On the environmental front we are working hard to design our products in a way to minimize the lifecycle environmental impacts: Such as designing our products to be more energy efficient during use and to be easier to recycle after their use. Several years ago we established an environmental management system for our manufacturing facilities worldwide, and received third-party certification under the ISO 14001 standard. We have also instituted a program to manage the activities of our suppliers. In short, HP manages our operations worldwide in an environmentally-responsible manner. We apply the principles of pollution prevention, resource conservation, legal compliance, performance measurement, and continual improvement to minimize the environmental impacts of our operations.

analogZONE: Has your environmental program resulted in the creation or development of important new technologies?

HP: To improve product design and reduce the impact on the environment, HP uses company-wide Design-for-Environment (DfE) guidelines. HP has a network of product stewards within each of the business groups and product lines to provide DfE consulting to the product development teams. HP's product stewards and product designers identify, prioritize, and integrate environmental improvements into the design process. Results of the DfE program include:

• Most of HP's PCs, notebook PCs, printers, and other imaging devices are Energy Star qualified.
• Many products have power management features that save energy, such as sleep and hibernate modes.
• Instant-On fusing technology allows many HP LaserJet printer models to save energy by immediately shifting from active printing to a power-saving sleep mode without sacrificing printer reliability or the time needed to begin the next print job.
• HP printer speed and quality have increased substantially while energy consumption has decreased. For example, a printer introduced in 1993 printed four pages per minute (pp/min) and consumed 15 W in sleep mode, while a comparable model introduced in 2001 has an output of 18 pp/min and consumes only 10 W of power in sleep mode.
• HP's All-in-Ones combine printers, copiers, faxes and scanners into single units. These integrated devices use at least 40% less materials, energy, and packaging than the sum of the comparable standalones.
• HP's e-PC is a resource-efficient desktop PC introduced in 2000. This product line saved more than 2300 tons of product mass, reduced packaging by 420 tons, and cut electricity consumption by 8200 MW-hr in 2001, compared to standard desktop PCs, while providing equivalent or superior performance.

analogZONE: What is the business case for sustainable development in the computer industry?

HP: Integrating elements of sustainability across the industry can support many factors of long-term business success. HP believes that is a fundamental expectation of every stakeholder, including customers, governments, communities - and even employees - that we integrate elements of sustainability into our business processes. Sustainability practices build a foundation of quality and process management around operations, products, and services. Sustainability means providing solutions to our customers by designing products that require less energy and are easy to recycle. By improving our operations and products we reduce HP's and our customers' environmental footprint. This saves HP and our customers money. Some examples include:

• Energy use is a major operating cost and a significant part of our overall environmental impact. The measures we are taking to reduce energy use at our facilities globally are achieving significant energy and cost reductions.
• The disposal of hazardous waste is expensive and represents a future liability. As such, HP has implemented goals to continue to reduce the volume, and therefore the cost, of hazardous waste generated by our operations.
• In an effort to prevent future environmental liability, HP has implemented a waste vendor audit program to ensure that materials from our operations are sent to reliable third party waste management vendors.
• To reduce the solid waste generated by HP, every site has landfill diversion rate goals. These goals are reviewed and modified on an annual basis.
• Continual HP product improvement reduces HP's and customers' environmental footprint by reducing energy consumption, extending the useful life of products, reducing material use, and reducing electronic waste at end-of-life.

analogZONE: Does integrating environmental principles into HP's core business plan come with a downside?

HP: There is no downside. As we engage in each area of global citizenship - from designing environmentally-sound products to testing new models of partnering to speed economic development - we will use what we learn to deepen our commitment to leading corporate, social, and environmental responsibility, and we will do so in a way that builds customer and shareowner value for the long haul. We are investing in environmental programs because we believe it makes good business sense for HP. There may be some up-front costs associated, but we believe the business benefits far outweigh the immediate costs.

analogZONE: How does a commitment to sustainability play out during economic downturns?

HP: Our commitment to the environment has not changed during this economic downturn. HP recognizes that there are fundamental laws we must obey in order to exist as a business well into the 21st century. These include the fact that material and energy flows are finite and the capacity of the environment to absorb waste is limited. We believe sustainability is fundamental to our long-term business success, and our commitment to environmental sustainability has remained strong.

analogZONE: Is there a case for a coordinated, industry-wide effort to improve its environmental performance?

HP: At HP we believe that multinational corporations have the responsibility and the imperative to redefine their role on the world stage, particularly as they pursue business opportunities in developing nations. We intend to lead the corporate sector as an exemplary corporate global citizen. In this way, we can raise the bar for ourselves, our partners, and our competitors in all areas of global citizenship. There are many opportunities for a coordinated industry-wide effort. HP values such partnerships and is directly involved in numerous collaborative industry, government, and community partnerships around the world.

analogZONE: There were media reports that HP played a role in influencing California Governor Gray Davis in his decision to veto that state's recently-passed computer recycling bill, then reversed course in a policy announcement by Renee St Denis at a California EPA meeting last month. What is HP's side of this story?

HP: We have not reversed our decision. We have always maintained that we would prefer to see national legislation vs. state-based legislation, and that is still our preference. With regard to the California bill under consideration last year, we opposed this bill because of our concern that a state-specific recycling fee could not be implemented in a fair manner. Our concern is that the fee would be applied to sales at retail and to HP and other companies based in California, but would not apply to companies selling by remote means (e.g., the Internet, phone order) that lack a physical presence in the state. These types of sales already escape sales tax. While we remain opposed to this type of state-fee legislation, we have never opposed reasonable, fair recycling legislation that could be implemented in an efficient and environmentally-sound manner. Our announcement in California in November 2002 continues to be consistent with this position.

analogZONE: Does this country need a national recycling program, framework, or legislation for computer product disposal?

HP: HP prefers national solutions and believes that individual state-by-state legislation is not the most efficient, environmentally-sound way to address this issue. We are actively working at the national level to play a constructive role in the development of national solutions. If states insist on creating their own legislation, we want to participate in the development of such legislation and provide guidance toward fair, equitable, cost-effective, and environmentally-sound laws.

analogZONE: What's ahead for HP's environmental program?

HP: During the past year we restructured our corporate organizations to more effectively drive environment and sustainability practices into our business processes. We published our first social and environmental responsibility report, expanded our recycling services in many countries, received the Green Cross Award, reduced energy significantly, and accomplished numerous DfE initiatives. Our goals for the future include expanding the company-wide environmental programs as part of the corporate leadership objective in global citizenship and sustainability. This strategy will be driven by senior executives in HP and therefore reach all aspects of the business, and include partnerships with customers, stakeholders, government, and the communities where we operate.

HP's Social and Environmental Responsibility Report is on the company's website.

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