Journey to sustainability doesn’t happen by chance - ask Hewlett-Packard

Two weeks ago I wrote about Nokia’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact as presented at the Green Manufacturing Expo, a conference I chaired in Anaheim, Calif. I promised one more report from the event: This one on Hewlett-Packard.

During the conference, HP announced an engineering development that allows it to use post-consumer recycled plastics to make new Original HP inkjet print cartridges. As of the announcement, more than 200 million cartridges had been manufactured with the process. HP says it used more than 5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its inkjet cartridges last year, and the company is committed to using twice as much in 2008.

What the press release doesn’t tell you is how H-P makes breakthroughs like this happen. Its internal processes were explained in a presentation by Jay Celorie, a manager of HP’s social and environmental responsibility efforts. More than most companies, HP understands that environmental responsibility starts at the top of the organization and must be nurtured throughout. It will not happen without specific goals, objectives and commitment to attain them.

HP has been a pioneer in environmental and other socially responsibility. According to the environmental sustainability segment on its web site, HP launched product recycling in 1987, and launched product design for environment in 1992. HP’s approach is worth studying by companies genuinely committed to the greening of their practices. And it is also worth remembering that even HP – and it would acknowledge this – is just part way along the journey to the kind of environmental sustainability the industry needs.

According to Celorie, HP manages its impact by adopting environmentally responsible practices in product development, operations and supply chain. When it begins to design products, it systematically considers the energy efficiency of the design, the materials that will have a lower impact, and how the device and its components can be recycled at end of life. It establishes goals, just as it does for sales. And it monitors and audits progress toward those goals, including the efforts its suppliers make toward choosing and producing environmentally sustainable parts and materials.

These practices follow the same roadmap TFI Environment uses to support our clients. Does your company have a compass to guide you toward environmental sustainability?

I’ll be chairing the next Green Manufacturing Expo, organized by Canon Communications, on September 22 and 23 in Rosemont, Ill. If you’re interested in attending, please write to Melanie.Cruz@CanCom.com.

Posted by Pamela Gordon, February 28th, 2008