HP, for its part, has had skin in the game for more than 30 years, when its Planet Partners supplies recycling program debuted, to help close the loop on consumer plastics. The momentum continues to this day.
In HP’s recently published 2021 Sustainable Impact report, the company announced a significant reduction in single-use plastics, as well as advancements in recycled-plastic innovation, among others.
These successes are part of a larger, comprehensive 2030 Sustainable Impact agenda that aligns to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and spans climate action, human rights, and digital equity.
These efforts couldn’t come at a more critical moment, according to Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores. “We are confronting a set of global challenges that are testing the very foundation on which our society is built,” he said in the report. “Of all the challenges facing the world, none is greater than the climate crisis.”
HP said it reduced single use plastic packaging by 44% in 2021 vs. 2018, a 19% improvement over 2020. HP recently acquired Choose Packaging, the inventor of the only known commercially available zero-plastic paper bottle. Additionally, HP said it tallied nearly 1,300 metric tonnes of ocean-bound plastic in its products since 2016, the equivalent to more than 102 million (500 ml) plastic bottles.
Along with investing in non-plastic packaging alternatives, HP is partnering with leading conservation and environmental organizations, including World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Arbor Day Foundation, and the Jane Goodall Institute to invest in forest restoration and responsible management to counteract deforestation for non-HP paper used in HP printers and print services. Since 2020, all HP brand paper and paper-based packaging for home and office printers and supplies, PCs, and displays have been derived from recycled or certified sources.
The report also identifies areas where the company seeks to improve. Even though HP has reduced emissions by 9% toward its goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the company wants to move quicker considering the high stakes of climate change.