HP: Product Design, Return and Recycling Programs
From Lauraibm
Contents |
MI Summary
HP’s largest impact upon the environment is through its products, a forward thinking approach to product design is used to try and reduce this impact. To accomplish this objective the Design for Environment program is used which specifies three priorities, 1) Energy efficiency, 2) Materials innovation and 3) Design for recycling.
Most products have a modular design which allows their useful life to be extended via removing, upgrading or replacing components. Recycling of the product is accounted for during design and a number of features ensure that products can be easily recycled e.g. eliminating glues & adhesives and reducing the number and types of materials used.
In addition to this HP offers customers several choices when disposing of computers e.g. return for cash, recycle or donate, this allows the management of unwanted computers and minimises the impact on the environment.
HP is proactive in using paper more efficiently, they participate in the Paper Working Group and the EPA’s Waste Wi$e program. Furthermore, HP internally promotes the use of recycled content and offer their own brand of recycled office paper.
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Product Design
HP's greatest environmental impact is through customer use of our products and services. Our goal is to improve customers' lives and work by providing simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology. We integrate environmental considerations into our business strategy because this results in better products.
Customers increasingly value environmental aspects of products, such as energy efficiency and provisions for reuse and recycling, two of HP's global citizenship priorities (discussed in detail in those sections). We differentiate our products by integrating such features to deliver lower total cost of ownership and improved user experience.
Since 1992, we have focused on specific environmental issues – through our Design for Environment program. For example, HP introduces new materials to meet customer expectations, to capitalize on emerging technologies and to substitute for materials of concern.
In packaging, we minimize materials, utilize recycled and recyclable materials when possible, and reduce packaging size and weight to improve transportation fuel efficiency.
As a global company with customers worldwide, product transport also offers opportunities to improve our environmental impact. Through logistics initiatives such as more efficient transport planning and alternative pallets, we reduce the energy needed to move each product.
We also work to ensure that as many people as possible can use our products and information, by integrating accessibility into product and website design.
Design for the Environment
As one of the world’s largest consumer IT companies, a leading IT supplier to small and medium-size businesses and a leader in enterprise computing, HP’s largest impact on the environment is through its products.
The environmental performance of products is largely determined at the design stage. Through intelligent design we can reduce the environmental impact of our products, and that of our customers.
To accomplish this objective, HP established its Design for Environment (DfE) program in 1992.
Design-for-Environment (DfE) is an engineering perspective in which the environmentally related characteristics of a product, process or facility are optimized. Together, HP's product stewards and product designers identify, prioritize and recommend environmental improvements through a company-wide DfE program. HP's DfE guidelines derive from evolving customer expectations and regulatory requirements, but they are also influenced by the personal commitment of its employees.
The Design for Environment program has three priorities:
- Energy efficiency – reduce the energy needed to manufacture and use our products
- Materials innovation – reduce the amount of materials used in our products and develop materials that have less environmental impact and more value at end-of-life
- Design for recyclability – design equipment that is easier to upgrade and/or recycle
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Product Return and Recycling
HP offers our customers several choices to manage aging or unwanted computers while also minimizing the impact on the environment.
Trade in Return for cash
HP Trade-In offers users the opportunity to capture the fair market value of aging technology and upgrade to new HP technology.
Return for Cash
HP Financial Services will pay your company for qualified computer equipment you no longer want or need.
Recycle
HP makes it easy to recycle unwanted computer hardware and printing supplies responsibly.
Donate
HP makes it easy to donate your used computer equipment. In the US, this program is made possible through a partnership with the National Cristina Foundation (NCF).
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End of Life
Electronic waste, or E-waste, is a growing environmental concern. By designing products that can be easily upgraded to extend their useful lives and designing more recyclable products, HP reduces e-waste and its environmental impacts.
Extending the life of products
Most of HP's products have a modular design that allows various components to be removed, upgraded or replaced which extends the useful life of the product. Servers, processors, memory, network connectivity, power supplies, and mass storage devices are upgradeable.
Design for recycling
HP products are designed to be recycled. Recycling design features include:
- Modular design to allow components to be removed, upgraded or replaced
- Eliminating glues and adhesives, for example, by using snap-in features
- Marking plastic parts weighing more than 25g according to ISO 11469 international standards, to speed up materials identification during recycling
- Reducing the number and types of materials used
- Using single plastic polymers
- Using molded-in colors and finishes instead of paint, coatings or plating
- Relying on modular designs for ease of disassembly of dissimilar recyclable materials
HP’s DfR standards include clear design guidelines and checklists that can be used to assess a product’s recyclability. This allows HP to develop more easily recyclable products.
Recycling services
HP has long been a leader in e-waste recycling. HP's Planet Partners programs offers return and recycling programs for LaserJet printer supplies, Inkjet printer supplies and all manufacturer's computer hardware in many countries around the world.
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Using Recycled Paper
Paper and paper products make up the largest percentage by volume of global solid waste streams. HP is working to use paper more efficiently and to increase our use of recycled paper products. Our aim is to reduce the number, size and weight of manuals and other literature, use automatic or manual duplex capability (printing on both sides of a page) to reduce paper usage, use addendums and revisions for updating manuals, and maximizing the use of post-consumer recycled content paper.
In 1999 HP committed to restrict its paper suppliers from providing products from non-sustainable forest sources. In addition, we participate in the Paper Working Group and the EPA's WasteWi$e program. Furthermore, HP has internal procurement specifications in place to promote the use of recycled content, business cards, stationery and advertising materials. HP also offers and uses our own brand of recycled office paper with 30 percent post-consumer recycled content.
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