Hewlett Packard Sets Climate Targets for Suppliers

Hewlett Packard (HP) is embarking on one of the more elusive aspects of corporate sustainability – getting suppliers in line.

HP announced it is setting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for first-tier supply chain partners involved in manufacturing and transporting products. The goal is for a 20% cut in GHG by 2020 (from 2010 levels).

"HP has one of the largest supply chains in the industry. It’s imperative to manage it not just efficiently, but also ethically and in an environmentally sustainable way," says Tony Prophet, senior vice president, Operations, Printing and Personal Systems. "We understand the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, promoting sustainability throughout the IT supply chain and driving innovation that creates a better world and brighter future."

Developed in consultation with the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program, HP plans to meet the goals through a variety of initiatives: 

• Offering business incentives for suppliers to set and achieve their own targets
• Expanding HP’s Energy Efficiency Program which helps manufacturing suppliers;
• Instituting specific emissions reduction initiatives with suppliers that have GHG intensive operations, such as LCD panel manufacturing; 
• Creating initiatives that improve efficiency of transporting products;  
• Reporting on GHG emissions across the supply chain to raise awareness among suppliers and demonstrate progress. Reports will be available online in HP’s Global Citizenship Report.

HP has long been a sustainability pioneer, setting the stage for others to follow. In 2008, it was the first major IT company to measure and publish aggregate supply chain GHG emissions.

Along with Intel, HP was selected to design the extremely efficient High Performance Computer Center – the largest supercomputer dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy research. And it was recently lauded for transporting goods using rail instead of air or ocean-going ships.

The company is #2 on this year’s Greener Electronics ranking and Newsweek’s Green US ranking and consistently leads on  corporate responsibility reporting.