CSR in Europe, Middle East and Africa : environment

White paper: From Green IT to Greening with IT

jeanne2007 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:02:00 GMT

A few months ago, WWF published a HP-supported white paper called ‘From Green IT to Greening with IT’. The paper is directed mainly at policy makers and aims to explore the role of IT in business and government strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It particularly looks at how the current economic and financial crisis can be turned into an opportunity to promote the uptake of low carbon IT solutions.

The paper illustrates nicely the difference between the meaning of Green IT and Greening IT, which is, I think, really important to stress. Green IT refers to making IT more efficient to reduce GHG emissions from the IT sector, which account for 2% of global GHG emissions. Greening with IT, on the other hand, means providing low carbon IT solutions that reduce GHG emissions across different sectors. Examples would be virtual meetings that replace the need to travel as often, thereby reducing the levels of GHG emissions that are generated from the travel sector. Such Greening with IT solutions can be integrated in all businesses and can consequently have an enormous effect on reducing emissions, as they address the remaining other 98%.

We summarised the main points of the paper in an article. Please have a look at the article and the paper.

This paper is the last in a series of several reports that HP EMEA supported for WWF. You can find links to the reports at the bottom of the article.

For insights into IT as an enabler of a low carbon economy, I can also recommend reading blogs by Dennis Pamlin, the author of the reports.

Jeannette Weisschuh

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

jeanne2007 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:23:00 GMT

For the third consecutive year, our blog is participating in the Blog Action Day. The idea of the Blog Action Day is to encourage bloggers all over the world to post an entry on the same topic on the same day to raise awareness. The motto is: One day. One issue. Thousands of voices.

After last year’s topic on poverty (read our blog entry here), we are back with an environmental issue: Climate Change. Climate Change has been at the top of the agenda for many years and this is why: Climate Change constitutes environmental, economic and social risks. But there are also opportunities, especially for businesses that are committed to finding ways to alleviate climate change.

As a technology company we look at the environmental impact of our operations, the life cycle of our products and how we can help our customers reduce their carbon footprint. Let me highlight some of our latest eco solutions products and services to give you an example of how we do that. With our Eco Solutions programme, we offer more than 115 products that feature our HP Eco Highlights label. Our DeskJet D2545, for example, is made of 83% recycled plastic material. This version also uses 40% less energy than its predecessor. For an overview, have a look at our Eco Solutions Website.

Did you know that saving 1,000 business flights between London and New York for one person can prevent more than 1,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions? It also saves around $2 million in airfares. HP Halo Videoconferencing System offers an alternative to business travel and, at HP, we use it wherever we can to reduce our carbon footprint. By offering Halo as a service to our business customers, we help them reduce their footprint too. Believe me, it feels like being in the same room with your colleagues who might be in the U.S. or China. You can connect up to four Halo rooms simultaneously. I try to use it wherever I can because it saves my time, my colleagues’ time and most of all it saves greenhouse gas emissions. To get an impression of HP’s Halo Telepresence and Videoconference effects on the environment, take a look here.

HP has also just launched SkyRoom, which brings videoconferencing right to your laptop in your office. SkyRoom is a software which enables the user to have live, real-time conversations in instant face-to-face meetings. But that’s not all. SkyRoom also allows users to share videos and presentations with each other. It actually nearly resembles a normal business meeting with your colleagues, except that you do not have to travel or invest hundreds of Euros. Soon this software will be pre-installed on several business desktops and workstations. So, with HP SkyRoom, videoconferencing becomes an affordable alternative to business travel. For more information on this, have a look at the website: www.hp.com/go/hpskyroom.

Technology advances quickly, doesn’t it? It does not only make our lives easier, but it also helps us to reduce our impact on the environment. As a single company, I think we are already making good progress in helping to alleviate climate change. But we must remember: there is still a long way to go and we will have to fundamentally change the way we live and work to help avoid the dangers of climate change.

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director Global Citizenship, HP EMEA

Do not rest on your laurels: HP sets new energy reduction goals

jeanne2007 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:50:00 GMT

I came back from my holidays last week. Normally your first day back after a two weeks away is a little bit ‘tough’, but this time it was brightened up by this HP announcement: HP sets new energy reduction goals.

Having achieved our goal of reducing combined energy consumption and associated GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions of our operations and products to 25 per cent below our 2005 levels, we have now taken up our next challenge, related to the integration of EDS into HP: to reduce the energy consumption and associated GHG emissions of our products to 40(!) per cent below our 2005 levels by the end of 2011.

It is encouraging that there are always good reasons to aim even higher. My holidays might be over, but I can look ahead now with great enthusiasm. My team and I will soon start planning, organising and defining our Global Citizenship priorities in the region for our next financial year. You can be sure that we will keep you posted here on our blog.

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director Global Citizenship, HP EMEA

HP ranks first in Newsweek Green Ranking

ulrikehaug — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:34:00 GMT

Newsweek have just published their new Green Ranking list of the biggest companies in the U.S. I was very pleased to see that HP ranked #1. As Daniel McGinn points out in his article, such rankings can be quite controversial. Not all companies report on their environmental performance. Either that or they only report on selected parts and so it’s difficult to compare companies against each other. Nevertheless, Newsweek think they have found a sound methodology by working with KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com. Here is some more information on how HP scored in the different categories.

What do you think about Green Rankings? Leave a comment and let me know!

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes, HP EMEA

WWF video: ‘Let the clean economy begin’

ulrikehaug — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:32:00 GMT

I just came across a video by WWF called 'Let the clean economy begin'. It talks about the business opportunities that arise for companies that strive to be leaders in a low carbon economy. They also highlight the companies that have joined ‘Climate Savers’, a programme by WWF that encourages large companies to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Collectively, the companies have pledged to reduce 50 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by next year.

Some of you might also recognize my colleague Pierre Delforge, who appears in a brief interview.

Have a look at the video and let me know what you think. There’s also a website about the Clean Economy campaign with case studies by the companies that joined ‘Climate Savers’.

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes, HP EMEA

(Please visit the site to view this media)

New Global Citizenship Video

ulrikehaug — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:22:00 GMT

We have just released an updated version of our ‘Global Citizenship in EMEA’ video and I would like to invite you to watch it and leave your comments.

In the video, HP managers in charge of environmental responsibility, social investment, supply chain responsibility and privacy describe what HP does in their area of global citizenship.

Let me know what you think and if you know of any CSR videos by other companies that you find worth watching.

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes, HP EMEA

New WWF study: Go where the jobs are. Go green

jeanne2007 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:42:00 GMT

In economic hard times reports about layoffs and wage-cutting dominate the news agenda. A new WWF study, however, provides much more positive news and shows real opportunities. The report actually discusses how ’green industries’ such as renewable energy, green transport and energy-efficient goods and services are creating jobs. Currently, there are more jobs in those industries than in industries such as mining, gas or steel. The prospects, therefore, are that jobs in the former industries will rise, whilst jobs in the latter are falling.

To read the summary of the report click here and to read the full report, click here.

WWF does great work and publishes frequent reports on important issues. Last year, for example, WWF published a report entitled ’The potential global CO2 reductions from ICT use: Identifying and assessing the opportunities to reduce the first billion tonnes of CO2’ which addresses the need for and potential of energy efficient ICT solutions.

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director Global Citizenship, HP EMEA

Video about HP’s power to change campaign

ulrikehaug — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:47:00 GMT

For those of you interested in HP’s power to change campaign, here is a video that illustrates the main essence of our Power to Change campaign. Thought you might enjoy this. We definitely need more ‘Dougs’ in the office!

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes, HP EMEA

(Please visit the site to view this media)

HP’s Thin Clients are the first in the industry to achieve ENERGY STAR 5.0 compliance!

ulrikehaug — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Following HP’s recent environmental announcement Jim Campbell will share some details on HP’s latest Thin Clients which were highlighted in the announcement. Enjoy reading, Ulrike

HP’s Thin Clients are the first in the industry to achieve ENERGY STAR 5.0 compliance!

HP is now the first to offer thin clients that meet the new version 5.0 ENERGY STAR specifications. Those HP Thin Clients that meet this stringent specification – which requires using 85-per cent-efficient internal power supplies – include our HP t5145, HP t5540, HP t5545, HP t5630 and HP t5630w models. So what does this mean? Well, first off, HP’s ENERGY STAR® qualified products save customers money by reducing energy costs – which in itself has got to be an instant eye-opener in these difficult times.

As part of our Client Virtualisation portfolio, which offers alternatives to conventional PCs, HP Thin Clients can cut energy consumption by more than 80 per cent compared to a typical desktop PC system. And, because they generate less heat, they require less air conditioning, which saves even more power and cost. In fact, thin clients draw between six and 20 watts per hour compared with 150 to 350 watts for a typical desktop PC. The result is lower electricity bills and reduced CO2 emissions. HP Thin Clients are also more reliable and enjoy a longer life cycle, which again contributes to a much lower total five-year cost. Not only that, with no moving parts, – they’re also much quieter. In fact, studies have shown that decreasing ambient office noise can reduce fatigue and stress, which increases productivity! In a nutshell, companies using a thin client IT system can actually enjoy a triple whammy of benefits – from an improved bottom line, to a reduced environmental impact, to happier and more productive workforce. They might be thin, but HP Thin Clients are bursting with benefits.

Check out the following link for the low-down on the new ENERGY STAR® 5.0, which comes into effect on July 1st: ENERGY STAR® Programme Requirements for computers - Version 5.0.

Jim Campbell, Market Development Manager for Client Virtualisation, HP EMEA

Turn off idle computers and join HP’s Power to Change campaign

ulrikehaug — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:21:00 GMT

HP has just launched a campaign called Power To Change which encourages users to turn off computers when they’re not in use. Not a big deal, you think? I was surprised to read that, in the US alone, only 36 per cent of business computers are turned off at the end of the day.* So, even if you already turn off your idle computer, the likelihood that your colleagues or friends are doing the same is not high.

So with this campaign, you can help to raise awareness and encourage people to save energy. Just go to the ‘Spread the Word’ section on www.hp.com/powertochange and send an email to colleagues, friends and family members.

On the website you can see what our joint efforts amount to: They show how many people are participating around the world; how CO² emissions are saved by turning off computers and how these figures compare in terms of cars that could be taken off the road.

To get more information, you can also visit the Power To Change blog where HP environment and CSR experts blog about the campaign and give useful tips on how to ‘green’ your office. The power to change is in our hands!

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes

*Source for computers left on every night (US): Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, After-hours Power Status of Office Equipment and Inventory of Miscellaneous Plug-Load Equipment, Report No. 53729, January 2004.

Transforming the business model: the environmental case for digital printing

Jean-PierreLeCalvez — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:04:00 GMT

Travelling in the Metro today made me notice how many Parisians read books—rather than newspapers—on their way to work. Ballpark calculation: there were probably five books for every three newspapers in the train carriage. Quite the opposite from London, where the majority of commuters lose themselves behind newspapers (free ones for the great majority). But it brought me back to some numbers I read not long ago: did you know that more than 30 percent of printed books are never sold and eventually destroyed and re-pulped? And that roughly ten percent of newspaper printing is simply wasted?

But more on that shortly.

I’ve been following last week’s environment news closely, as have many others at HP. Sustainability is now integral to every part of our business, and these updates are particularly timely: not only are we seeing significant returns on HP’s own environmental goals and commitments; we’re also seeing the uptake of sustainable practices by customers really hitting an upward curve. Economic downturn or not, businesses continue to invest in green IT, hitting compliance targets but also realizing significant bottom-line benefits. Good environmental practices simply make for good business. The majority of our larger customers now have systematic environment policies in place, and small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) are quickly catching up. Many of the HP initiatives announced in the last few days are backed by strong customer demand for tools and advice that can help them ‘go green’ at a low cost—and that’s significant.

Last week’s news was also big for printing. One of the announcements that caught my attention was our work around the SMART 2020 report. Published recently by the Climate Group, this report quantified the carbon emissions of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector based on growth projections through the year 2020, and examined where the industry could enable emission reductions across various areas. At HP we set out to evaluate the report’s findings and apply its premises specifically to printing. The results were revelatory. We estimated, for example, that the carbon footprint of printing was something close to 850 million tonnes in C02 equivalents.

The opportunities to reduce this impact are huge. We are addressing this in multiple ways—investing in green technology and R&D, driving resource efficiency straight into print hardware and consumables, and better educating buyers with more robust product labelling and guidance, amongst others. But the bigger picture is about the transition from analog to digital printing, which is having a profound impact on the print business across the board.

When we think of printing, we mostly think of office or home printing. This is the bedrock of digital printing: the printing of documents from digital files. Yet digital printing represents less than ten percent of printed paper volumes worldwide. All the rest is printed on offset—analog—technology. This includes most of the newspapers, magazines and books that comprise over half of the paper volume used in printing around the world. Huge set-up costs mean that offset processes require printing in large batches in order to be economically viable. The result? You heard it: up to 30 percent of traditional book stock is unsold and eventually re-pulped, up to 11 percent of newspaper printing is waste and 20-30 percent of marketing collateral from offset printing methods is sitting on shelves, discarded or rendered obsolete before use.

Digital processes are driving nothing less than a total transformation of printing and the workflow processes linked to it—from data capture through to storage, distribution and output. On-demand digital publishing enables printing when and where it is needed, and in the quantity needed—vastly reducing the cost of waste, transport, warehousing and outdated inventory. Variable data printing allows for rapid prototyping of documents as well as customization of print media that creates efficiencies and makes materials more effective and impactful. From the ‘print and distribute’ model of yore the industry now shifts to ‘distribute and print’, with printing carried out close to where it is needed. Shorter-run printing becomes economically viable, transforming the business models of print service providers (PSPs) and reducing waste associated with make-ready and change-over in traditional printing operations.

HP is making a concerted push to drive an industry transition from analog to digital printing. We estimate that, from this transition alone, the opportunity exists to reduce the impact of printing by 251 million tonnes, CO2 equivalents, by the year 2020. To provide perspective, this is nearly equivalent in size to the impact of the entire telecommuting industry. The opportunity is huge and we’re greatly excited.

There are a few calls to action here. Vendors like HP need to continue investing in technology and driving training and education around the benefits of digital printing. For Print Service Providers, it’s about implementing low-waste business models based on shorter runs, and pursuing value-add business through customized content. Print buyers should look to include digital printing in environmental purchasing guidance and specifications, and adopt print-on-demand strategies to avoid warehousing and obsolescence.

Now back to Parisians preferring their books over their newspapers: Does that make us more cultured or less informed?

Jean-Pierre Le Calvez

Vice President, Marketing, Imaging and Printing Group EMEA

HP announces company-wide environment goals and additions to Eco-Solutions programme

ulrikehaug — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:18:00 GMT

I just briefly wanted to highlight an announcement that HP released today. It provides news from across the company, highlighting new environmental goals as well as new products and services in the HP Eco Solutions programme.

The announcement includes a real wealth of information from different HP businesses and we in the CSR team felt it would be good to zoom in one or two items. I’ve therefore asked some representatives from across HP in EMEA to be guest bloggers on the CSR Blog over the coming weeks and to explain to us in greater detail HP’s environmental strategy for their particular products or services.

So keep watching this space if you’d like to get some deeper insights into what was covered in today’s announcement.

Ulrike Haug, CSR Stakeholder Programmes

Computerweek showcases Top Green IT users and vendors

jeanne2007 — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:49:00 GMT

Being green has been top of the agenda for some time now and it is here to stay. Computerworld magazine recently published its annual list of Top Green IT Organisations. The article honours Top Green IT Users as well as Top Green IT vendors. Citing many examples, Ellen Fanning, author, shows how it pays off to be green. Financial services provider State Street Corp., for example, achieved energy savings through server consolidation. Other companies have virtualised their desktops or tackled their energy consumption through sensors to see where and how energy can be saved. In addition to judging the Top 12 Green IT users, the article also honours the Top Green IT vendors. I am delighted to see that, in this list, we jumped from 7th place last year to Number 2 this year.

I can really recommend reading the article to get inspired on how energy can be saved. You can read the article here

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director of Global Citizenship, HP EMEA

Financial Times, Forum for the Future and HP announce winner of Climate Change Challenge

ulrikehaug — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:48:00 GMT

What has black cardboard on the inside, a silver foil-covered outer box and can boil 10 litres of water in two hours, using only the sun’s rays? Right, it’s a solar cooker and a special one at that.

The Kyoto Box solar cooker by John Brohmer won the Climate Change Challenge which was sponsored by HP and organised by the Financial Times and Forum for the Future, a sustainable development charity. Among the judges were Mark Hurd, CEO, HP; Sir Richard Branson and Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the IPCC and a Nobel Prize winner, who chose the winner in conjunction with a public vote. The latter helped the Kyoto Box beat the nearly other 300 entries to the climate change challenge. You can read more about other shortlisted entries here.

I’m glad to see the prize ($75,000) go to the Kyoto box. While solar cookers have been around for some time, there is still a lot to be done to give more people access to this technology, at prices they can afford. On the Forum for the Future Blog, Shannon Carr-Shand says that this is the strength of the Kyoto Box: “What distinguishes this approach is that the cooker will be mass-produced cheaply in existing factories, the finished item is to be flat-packed for bulk transportation to end-users and it is extremely cheap at $6. The $75,000 prize money will enable Kyoto Energy to test durable, plastic versions of the cooker with 10,000 people currently burning fossil fuels to clean their water and heat their food.”

It’s great to hear from Shannon that approximately 23,000 people visited the challenge homepage to engage in the debate on how innovation can tackle climate change, as this is also the topic for an essay competition for postgraduate students that HP is supporting here in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The deadline for the Ashridge Sustainable Innovation Award is this Sunday, May 17. To learn more about the award that we’re supporting together with WWF and EABIS, visit the Award website.

Ulrike Haug CSR Communications, HP EMEA

ZDNet Video: How we green our enterprise

jeanne2007 — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:11:00 GMT

Allow me to point you to a recent HP video profile story produced by ZDNet.

The video summarises our green practices and technologies and includes interviews with Bonnie Nixon, our Director of Environmental Sustainability and Brian Brouillette, our Vice President of Solutions Infrastructure. The video provides a nice overview of how we at HP strive to reduce the carbon footprint of our company. Definitely worth watching. You can watch the video here.

Enjoy

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director of Global Citizenship, HP EMEA