Addressing the Root Causes of Climate Change by Reinventing How We Work and Live
by Nate Hurst, Sustainability Innovation Officer, HP
In two weeks, country leaders will gather at COP21 in Paris for what many believe will be the most important climate negotiations to date. The goal of the event—to create a new international agreement on climate change that will, at a minimum, keep global warming below 2°C.
Climate experts have stated that to reach this threshold will require a 40-70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050—and that carbon neutrality must be met by the end of the century at the latest. Unfortunately, current scientific data shows we are going in the wrong direction. In fact, earlier this month the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2014.
The time for debating climate change is over. To stabilize the planet—and create a healthier world that can support the lives and livelihoods of the generations to come—requires decisive action from all of us. It means reinventing how we live and work.
At HP, we constantly challenge ourselves to find new ways to reduce our environmental impact. And to help our customers, partners, and society as a whole, do the same.
As an IT company, our efforts to create more sustainable solutions drive us to engineer new technologies that use much less energy and have a substantially smaller carbon footprint without trading off quality or performance. Like our HP PageWide Technology used in our HP OfficeJet Pro X and Enterprise X Series of printers. With this technology, our printers use up to 84% less energy on average than comparable HP laser printers1, and we have reduced the carbon footprint of printing by up to 55% per printer2.
But technology is only part of the climate change puzzle. To make a lasting positive impact, companies, governments, and other organizations must lower carbon emissions throughout their value chains. And they must do it in a way that does not hinder economic growth.
At HP, we have systematically analyzed our carbon footprint across our operations, supply chain, and products; set goals to reduce GHG emissions throughout our value chain; and taken steps to meet those goals. For example, we set a goal to reduce total GHG emissions from our global operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2010 levels. In July, we signed a 12-year power purchase agreement for 112 megawatts of wind power with SunEdison, Inc., to power our Texas-based data center operations. This agreement will help us reach our 2020 operational goal five years ahead of schedule.
We believe that by transparently tracking and reporting our GHG emissions, we send a clear message to others in our industry and beyond that we must all take action to aggressively address the root causes of climate change. Similarly, HP has publically demonstrated our commitment by signing the White House’s American Business Act on Climate Pledge and endorsing a statement organized by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) calling for negotiators at COP21 to adopt “a more balanced and durable multilateral framework guiding and strengthening national efforts to address climate change.”
In recognition of our ongoing efforts, HP is pleased to be among the 5 percent of companies participating in CDP’s climate change program to be awarded a position on the “Climate A List” published in the CDP 2015 Global Climate Change Report. This list recognizes those companies that are taking a leadership approach to climate change mitigation. In addition, we were again included on CDP’s S&P Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI), receiving the highest possible score of 100 out of 100 points. The CDLI spotlights those companies that disclose high-quality carbon emissions and energy data through CDP’s climate change program.
Our efforts to reduce GHG emissions support our key business strategies and highlight our belief that every action we take should help to create a brighter future for everyone, everywhere. By taking these steps now, we are helping to reinvent a more sustainable business and society.
