HP Inc. released its 2019 Sustainable Impact Report, highlighting the progress the company is making to drive greater diversity and inclusion, reduce its environmental footprint, and strengthen communities around the world.
As part of these commitments, HP announced a new goal to double the number of Black and African American executives inside the company by 2025. HP also announced a new goal to eliminate 75 percent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025, supporting the company’s efforts to drive a low-carbon, circular economy. HP’s Sustainable Impact efforts helped drive more than $1.6 billion in sales wins in 2019, up an estimated 69 percent, reflecting the growing business imperative for companies to lead with purpose.
“The HP culture has long been built on the belief that how we do things is just as important as what we do. Recent events have laid bare the systemic racism and deep inequalities that remain a stain on society, and it’s imperative for all companies to act with urgency on all fronts,” said Enrique Lores, HP President and CEO.
“It’s especially important for companies to hold themselves accountable and publicly report their progress,” Lores continued. “This year’s data shows that HP is making significant strides forward in many areas, while also revealing where we must do better. For example, the number of African American employees is below where it needs to be, and we are taking actions to improve. While we have a lot of hard work ahead, our values-driven culture that unites our teams and our partners gives me confidence in our ability to accelerate our progress and foster a more sustainable, equitable, and just society.”
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion to Drive Action
HP is driving a culture of diversity and inclusion at all levels of the company and remains committed to fighting racial inequality in all forms. HP’s Board of Directors continues to be the most diverse of any U.S. technology company, comprised of 42 percent women and 58 percent minorities. In 2019, 63 percent of U.S. hires were from underrepresented groups, including women, U.S. ethnicities, veterans, and persons with disabilities (compared to 57 percent in 2018). HP exceeded its target for hiring veterans by 43 percent, and 40 percent of new hires in the U.S. were minorities, up from 32 percent in 2018.
Globally, 40 percent of HP hires in 2019 were women, and the company’s Global Supplier Diversity program spent $374 million with small and diverse suppliers including minority- and women-owned businesses, contributing $698 million in overall economic impact.
Creating A World Without Waste
Three hundred million tonnes of plastic are produced each year worldwide, half of which are for single use and 91 percent are not recycled at all. Packaging is also experiencing an increase in demand as a result of COVID-19. Packaging comprises a significant portion of total waste produced and can affect the health of our planet and people, which is why HP today announced a new goal to eliminate 75 percent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025. The goal focuses on hardware unit packaging and is predicated on a move to molded fiber packaging cushions.
HP’s environmental packaging strategy aims to eliminate unnecessary plastics and materials of concerns wherever possible. In 2019, HP decided to eliminate power cord plastic ties and plastic document bags in hardware packaging. HP also has shifted to more recyclable, paper-based alternatives. To accelerate this shift, the company is transitioning from plastic foam packaging cushions to those made with 100 percent recycled, molded pulp for HP’s notebooks, desktops and displays. The transition to molded fiber Personal Systems packaging cushions eliminated 933 tonnes of hard-to-recycle expanded plastic foam last year.
Protecting and Restoring Forests
HP aims to regenerate natural systems that sustain life with a focus on protecting and restoring global forests. After eliminating deforestation in the supply chain for HP brand paper in 2016, the company is on track to do the same for its paper-based product packaging by the end of 2020.
Building Resilient Communities Everywhere
Inclusive access to technologies, tools and materials that can advance education for people everywhere is a key strategy for HP’s Sustainable Impact. In 2019, 6.3 million personal computers were shipped to schools worldwide. During COVID-19, many schools were closed and the shift to mobile and online learning has been a challenge for many students who lack access to devices or a reliable Internet connection to learn from home. In response, HP recently launched HP Turn to Learn, a program that is delivering educational content primarily focused on STEM and environmental topics to Title I school districts across the U.S. in partnership with TIME for Kids, NASA and Britannica. As part of the wide range of actions HP is taking to combat COVID-19 including more than 2.3 million 3D printed parts such as face shields, masks, nasal swabs and more for hospitals, HP and HP Foundation are committed to donating an estimated $8 million in products and grants to support blended learning and local communities.
