HP Eco Solutions Program. What I Like About it
August 20th, 2008 by Rich
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of the Dell CSR report, and the subsequent announcement of its “carbon neutrality”, that resulted in a few emails/ comments expressing I had set a bar too high.
Well, fortunately for my defense HP has recently released a new Eco Solutions program that exceeds a number of the things I was hoping to see from Dell through their sustainability programs. to be fair, the products do not match apple against apples, however I think that through HP’s programs there are lessons for others that should be followed:
the core pf the program consists of 4 points, as per the announcement:
- an enterprise printing assessment service and a carbon calculator that together comprehensively address energy and paper use, related carbon emissions and projected cost savings for optimized printing environments;
- a global paper policy governing the sustainable manufacture and use of paper HP sells to customers and uses for packaging, collateral and its own office printing;
- a new HP inkjet printer made almost entirely from recycled materials; and,
- an HP Eco Highlights label that will help customers identify environmental attributes of a given HP product or service.
For me, #3 is something that I was hoping of Dell. Particularly in its towers and laptop casings. Both firms highlight their strong recycling programs, but where HP goes one step further is that they point out the following about their new product:
Finding new uses for recycled materials, HP introduced the HP Deskjet D2545 Printer, the company’s first printer made almost entirely from recycled plastic material. Eighty-three percent of the printer’s total plastic weight is made from recycled plastics and it uses HP 60 ink cartridges, which are molded from recycled plastic resins. Additionally, the overall packaging for this printer is 100 percent recyclable.
One of a few new products, my hope is that this becomes a standard for HP, Dell, and others. that when designing the products for next year, they are not just looking at how to use recycled parts from previous models.. but that they are developing designs that can be leveraged in futher generations as well.
It is a system that is win - win - win for the company as it reduces waste, it reduces materials spend, and it reduces energy consumption
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 4:40 am and is filed under Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:16 am
aah, but when will that product go on sale in China? (there has been a lot of criticism of companies not bringing cutting-edge or sustainable practices to China because there is not the same pressures as in the ‘West)
on the side, though this is great, i wonder what % of total buyers of ink cartridges buy from the Brands and how many buy the cheap alternatives from eBay and other shops, with lower quality ink etc (but 1/5th of the price)?
August 21st, 2008 at 3:45 am
Good question. 18 months ago, I would say US first, EU next, and then China in 3 years… but with the global economy a wreck, HP may find their market here first. It is after all very close to the recylced plastics industry…
for the toner cartridges, that is another good question. Although, I would also say that the replacements you refer to are often so cheap because the do not simply chuck the toner cartridges.. and if HP follows suit… then we are all better off for it.
R