The following appears on greenbiz.com
When HP boss Meg Whitman stated in September that “business as usual is not an option for anyone”, it seemed to signal the IT giant’s willingness to join the sustainability trend that has dominated the technology sector in recent months. With the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook all winning plaudits for their high profile commitments to decarbonization and greener supply chains, it looked as if the IT hardware veteran was keen to get in on the act.
But Bruno Zago, sustainability manager at HP UK, is keen to emphasize that the company has a long heritage when it comes to environmental leadership. He cited founder David Packard’s 1957 declaration that “HP exists to create value for shareholders but also to create value for society,” as evidence that the company was a pioneer of green business thinking. And he insists that despite the industry changing beyond all recognition since then, HP remains true to its original goal. “Our customers expect us to be leaders in this arena but also to use technology, software and our people to solve these problems,” Zago said.
The latest example of this commitment is HP’s cartridge recycling program, Planet Partners, which since its inception in 1991 has taken back and reprocessed 566 million ink and toner cartridges worldwide, extending to over 50 countries and covering 90 percent of cartridges sold. Zago says that thanks to the program, no part of an original HP cartridge is sent to landfill — everything that comes back is fully recycled or goes to thermal recovery.
