HP Announces Environmental Milestones for Reduced Waste, Materials Reuse and Easier Recycling

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced several milestones in the company’s push to deliver energy savings, decrease carbon footprint and offer products and solutions that enable customers to reduce their environmental impact.

As part of these efforts, HP is:

• Working to reduce waste in its manufacturing, distribution and product development, enabling responsible purchase, use and recycling of products by customers.
• Offering ways to help customers reduce waste in their printing uses.
• Introducing ways to reduce waste through product packaging.
• Achieving industry-leading milestones in recycling and the use of recycled plastic.

"HP is an environmental leader among global companies, and these achievements are important milestones in our ongoing efforts,” said Engelina Jaspers, vice president, Sustainability, HP. "Applying our rich expertise and know-how, we’re creating more efficient, low-carbon technology solutions that help our customers save energy, resources and costs.”

Enabling reduction of waste and energy, reusing reclaimed materials and designing for ease in recyclability are among the key principles of HP’s environmental commitment.

Reducing waste

To date, HP has produced more than 1 billion ink cartridges manufactured with recycled plastic.⁽¹⁾ Through this and other efforts, HP has pledged to use a total of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic in printing products by 2011 (cumulatively, since 2007).

HP has developed manufacturing processes that use recycled plastics, including HP ink cartridges and plastic water bottles, in Original HP ink cartridges to deliver an estimated 22 percent reduction in carbon footprint and a 69 percent reduction in total water use when compared with using virgin plastics in the manufacture of 1 billion Original HP ink cartridges.⁽²⁾ Recycling efforts by customers and HP have kept approximately 1.3 billion plastic bottles and 160 million HP ink cartridges out of landfills.

HP is improving the efficiency of its recycling processes. The recycled plastic used in HP ink cartridges produced in 2010 and beyond is estimated to reduce total water used in plastics production by up to 89 percent. And, it has up to an estimated 33 percent smaller carbon footprint than virgin plastic in Original HP ink cartridges – even when accounting for the impact associated with collecting, transporting and processing used cartridges and plastic bottles.⁽²⁾

HP’s dedication to manufacturing products with responsible materials has led to the development of: the planet’s first PVC-free printer,⁽³⁾ the HP ENVY ¹⁰⁰ e-All-in-One; products made with up to 35 percent recycled plastic, like the HP Deskjet 3050 All-in-One; and the ability to recycle additional types of cartridges made with various plastic polymers through HP’s industry-leading "closed loop” cartridge recycling process.

Enabling customer conservation

HP offers ENERGY STAR® qualified devices in every aspect of its product portfolio, with products that reduce energy use, resulting in cost savings. Many of HP’s ENERGY STAR qualified products also offer automated two-sided printing, enabling customers to significantly reduce waste while printing.

For enterprise customers, HP offers Managed Print Services (MPS). HP helped United Stationers, a leading North American wholesale distributor of business products, reduce its fleet of printers and copiers from 160 different makes and models to just a few HP models for reduced energy and supplies costs.

Saving money with HP MPS was part of a corporate-wide initiative that United Stationers calls its "war on waste,” through which it has achieved 30 percent cost reductions. The company expects to create an additional 20 to 25 percent in savings through planned rollouts of further HP solutions. United Stationers spent 16 weeks evaluating vendors to implement a managed print approach and chose HP as the best collaborator for delivering savings.

HP also is enabling customers who use retail photo solutions to benefit from waste reduction. A 2010 life cycle assessment revealed that the carbon footprint of HP Minilab printers was up to 30 percent smaller than that of silver-halide systems.⁽⁴⁾ In one year, this enables a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by an amount comparable to up to 386 gallons of gasoline consumption or approximately 38,000 hours of LCD TV viewing.⁽⁵⁾

If every silver-halide printer system worldwide were replaced with an HP Minilab, the result would be the equivalent of saving the carbon emissions of up to 65,000 cars per year.⁽⁶⁾

HP is enabling small and medium business customers to conserve resources with products such as the HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One, which delivers 50 percent lower energy use and cost per page than competitive laser printers and yields an 80 percent reduction in packaging and supplies waste over the life of the printer.⁽⁷⁾

Media designed with the environment in mind

Recycled plain papers with ColorLok® Technology yield excellent print quality, equal to many non-recycled papers. Customers can count on bright, vivid colors, dark black text and crisp graphics when using recycled plain papers with ColorLok Technology. Because recycled papers with ColorLok Technology perform as well as many papers without recycled content, customers can reduce environmental impact without sacrificing print quality.⁽⁸⁾

HP graphic arts customers benefit from the company’s HP media take-back program⁽⁹⁾ and deinking work. For digital production printing, HP is working to improve the use of high-impact inks and the removal of these inks from media for responsible disposal of both ink and media.

As a leader in the digital production printing space, HP is partnering with Stora Enso to conduct research on HP processes and materials. HP’s deinking research is part of ongoing collaborative efforts between HP and HP Labs, the company’s central research arm, along with leading paper suppliers, digital press manufacturers and research organizations.

HP is now collaborating with UPM to investigate and implement best practices in coated sheet use and disposal. This is part of a large digital print deinking collaboration designed to provide digital media customers more robust solutions with reduced environmental impact.

Innovations in packaging

Several of HP’s consumer products are wrapped in reusable totes, offering packaging that is 99 percent reusable or recyclable⁽¹⁰⁾ and allowing customers to reduce their use of plastic shopping bags in the future.

In packaging its consumer printers, HP has replaced foam cushioning with recyclable pulp cushioning (where possible) and replaced plastic bags with reusable bags. In 2010, HP has seen significant reductions in packaging waste, avoiding the use of materials equivalent to more than 300 million 6-ounce Styrofoam™ cups⁽¹¹⁾ and enough plastic to cover 1,400 NFL football fields.

In 2010, HP estimates that it used approximately 10.5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its consumer printers, which is equal to the weight of 1,060 African elephants.⁽¹²⁾ Using recycled plastic enables energy and fossil fuel savings in comparison to manufacturing with virgin plastic material.

Additionally, many large enterprise printing products now ship in ClearView packaging, which saves up to 147 tons of corrugated fiberboard per year. In place of a corrugated cardboard box and foam packaging, HP uses minimal foam supports and wraps the product in widely recyclable film, reducing the volume and weight of packaging by 70 percent.

Continuing legacy

Thanks to customer involvement, HP has achieved significant progress in its recycling programs and now offers HP Planet Partners return and recycling programs in more than 50 countries and territories around the world.

In 2008, HP announced the industry’s first and only "closed loop” ink cartridge recycling process – an engineering breakthrough that enables the use of used Original HP ink cartridges returned through the Planet Partners program and other sources, such as recycled water bottles, in the production of new Original HP ink cartridges. In 2010, using recycled plastic instead of new plastic in Original HP cartridges is reducing fossil fuel use associated with HP cartridge manufacture, transport and recycling by up to 62 percent.⁽²⁾

Additionally, HP has expanded the number of papers it offers that contain certified fibers that meet a set of requirements for responsible or sustainable harvesting. Following last year’s introduction of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified Everyday Photo Paper, HP is expanding certification to its specialty paper portfolio, offering Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)- and FSC-certified brochure and flyer papers as well as presentation papers for use with HP LaserJet or inkjet printers in North America.

Additional information about today’s announcement is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/ecoachievement.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

(1) Many of HP’s ink cartridges with recycled content include at least 50 percent recycled plastic by weight. Exact percentage of recycled plastic varies by model and over time, based on the availability of material.

(2) For cartridges produced between 2005 and 2010. Based on a 2010 life cycle assessment (LCA) performed by Four Elements Consulting and commissioned by HP. The study compared the environmental impact of using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic with the environmental impact of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET) plastic to manufacture new Original HP cartridges. Amount collected since beginning of respective programs.

(3) HP ENVY 100 e-All-in-One is polyvinyl chloride-free (PVC free), meeting the evolving definition of PVC free as set forth in the "iNEMI Position Statement on the ‘Definition of Low-Halogen Electronics (BFR-/CFR-/PVC-free).” Plastic parts contain less than 1,000 ppm (0.1 percent) of chlorine (if the Cl source is from CFRs or PVC or PVC copolymers). Printers sold in Korea are not PVC free. USB cable, required in limited geographic areas, is not PVC free.

(4) Based on a 2010 LCA performed by Four Elements Consulting and commissioned by HP. The study compared the impact of using HP ML1000D, HP ML2000D and HP Microlab pm2000e printers with the impact of using Fuji Frontier 370 and Noritsu QSS-3502 printers to produce 450,000 4 x 6-inch photos a year in North America. Details are available at www.hp.com/go/rps.

(5) Assumes a typical operating period is nine years at a volume of 450,000 4 x 6-inch photos per year. Calculated using data from TV power-consumption tests conducted by CNET from January 2008 to April 2010. Assumes an LCD TV uses 111 watts and the U.S. average CO₂ emission factor for electricity production of 0.810 g CO₂/kWh. Details are available at http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-power-efficiency/.

(6) Claim based on PFN data on worldwide total installed base of approximately 106,416 silver halide minilabs (September 2009). Calculated with the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. Details are available at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html.

(7) Majority of color laser all-in-ones less than $600, March 2010; details at www.hp.com/go/officejet. Energy use based on HP testing using the ENERGY STAR program’s TEC test method criteria. HP Officejet Pro ISO yield with highest-capacity cartridges based on continuous printing; details at http://www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies. Calculation compares weight of supplies and cartridge packaging needed for the same amount of pages based on ISO yield and continuous printing.

(8) Details are available at www.hp.com/go/colorlok.

(9) Media take-back program available to U.S. customers at no cost. Additional information on availability is available at http://h30248.www3.hp.com/recycle/lfbanners/.

(10) Some small pieces of tape are not recyclable.

(11) Calculations based on volume and assumption of average foam density of 100 kg/cubic meter.

(12) Based on average African forest elephant weight of 9,900 pounds.

ENERGY STAR is a registered mark owned by the U.S. government.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2010 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.