At its global partner event HP Reinvent, the OEM announced a vision for carbon neutral print sustainability, pledging to reduce its impact on the planet and become part of a circular economy.
Built on HP’s “longstanding” commitment to environmental innovation, this new vision supports HP’s ongoing efforts to deliver the company’s “most environmentally sustainable product portfolio” while transforming their business to a more efficient, circular, and sustainable model.
“We are redefining the power of print to create a positive, lasting change for the planet, its people and our communities,” explained Enrique Lores, President of HP Inc.’s Imaging & Printing business. “HP’s commitment to sustainability guides how we do business and drives the way our printers are designed, made and used. Today at HP Reinvent, we took one step further by pledging to lead the industry in making every page you print sustainable.”
As HP looks to grow, without increasing its consumption of raw materials, and thrive in a resource-constrained future, the company says it is “well-positioned” to help customers do the same. Supporting a vision to build sustainable products, the company engineers Original HP supplies to help reduce risk for its customers, their reputation, and the planet.
With this pledge, the company aims to make every page printed on an HP printer forest positive, by extending beyond its consumer printers, which are forest positive, to its entire portfolio to include commercial printers. In 2016, HP achieved 100 percent zero deforestation associated with HP-branded paper, nearly two years ahead of schedule– marking a milestone towards the company’s vision for a forest positive future. Plus, the company’s paper-based product packaging zero deforestation goal is on track for 2020. In addition, 100 percent of HP branded paper sold in North America is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring transparency and responsible forest management.
HP is also taking an ambitious step towards its vision of carbon neutral printing, with the introduction of the new energy efficient EcoSmart LaserJet printer and EcoSmart black toner, which boasts a lower melt temperature, thereby reducing the energy consumption of HP printers.
Even more valuable than individual products, however, is how HP’s products work together through HP’s Managed Print Services (MPS) offerings – “helping customers achieve ambitious sustainability goals and better their bottom line.” By partnering with HP, customers have reported a 33 percent annual reduction in carbon emissions, energy consumption and costs, the OEM says.
HP continues to support a circular economy with its consumer and business products, recently reinventing its printer suite to include closed-loop recycled plastics, with HP ENVY and Tango printers comprised of 30 percent closed-loop recycled plastics. Since 2000, over 199 million pounds of recycled content plastic have been used in 3.9 billion HP Original ink and toner cartridges. Two years ago, HP introduced the first HP Original ink cartridges made with plastic bottles sourced from Haiti. As of this month, the company has sourced more than 550,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastic for use in its products – the equivalent of more than 12 million plastic bottles that might otherwise have washed into the ocean and waterways. HP’s R&D teams invest up to five years engineering each new generation of toner and ink cartridges to deliver “quality printing,” and 100 percent of toner cartridges and 80 percent of ink cartridges contain recycled content.
“People expect brands to stand for more than the products they sell,” the OEM explained. “A 2019 Edelman study on trust disclosed a staggering 67 percent of consumers self-identify as Belief-Driven Buyers and believe brands can be a force for social good. In the workplace, initial findings of a global supplies study conducted by HP reveals a company’s commitment to sustainability impacts employee recruitment, retention and advocacy with over 50 percent of today’s US workforce expecting sustainable practices by employers.”
HP Original Supplies are “engineered to provide the highest quality printing experience.” The OEM states that this means “prioritising the safety of your printer and the planet by producing reliable ink and toner cartridges, while raising the awareness of the harmful impacts clone and imitation cartridges can have on the environment, print quality, and customer costs.”
“HP has a bold vision for what the future of printing can look like, and it starts with challenging the printing industry to transform and continuously innovate,” the company continued, explaining that its pledge for print sustainability aims to protect forests, reduce carbon emissions, and use more recycled materials. “Circular economy models help decouple economic growth and natural resource consumption while driving greater competitiveness. Transforming print sustainability is not only good for the planet – it’s good for business.”
