HP Inc. recently held its 2019 Sustainable Impact Report in a virtual launch that gave us an insight to its progress and milestones in Asia as they discussed the critical role of technology in offering solutions to some challenges that are restricting growth and business. It also foresees the effect of the recent pandemic against sustainability programs and how organizations can do to function well amid the disease.
Present during the launch from HP Inc. executives Ng Tiang Chong, Managing Director, Greater Asia; Lynn Loh, Head of Sustainability Asia as well as its NGO and partners: Joi Danielson, SYSTEMIQ; Monique Wong, Senior Regional Business Development Manager, JA Asia Pacific and Gina Pulaska, Acting Director, Asia-Europe Foundation. Lastly, leading the virtual launch event is its moderator Charlotte Mei.
HP focuses three key areas in its sustainable impact strategy namely: Community–unlocking educational opportunity for people; Planet–driving more efficient, circular, and low-carbon economy; and People–champion dignity and respect for all whom they work with. Its sustainable impact helped them to drive over $1.6-billion in new sales in FY19 with an estimated 69 percent increase year over year.
Technology and entrepreneurship thru Tech Hubs
HP announced plans to open 20 Tech Hubs in underserved communities across Southeast Asia by the end of 2020. The program provides technology and entrepreneurship training for students aged 13 and above, and aims to upskill 10,000 youth by year-end – a goal that maps to HP’s commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025.
Outfitted with 15 to 20 new PCs as well as networking support from HP, the HP Tech Hubs blend classroom and online learning to deliver technical and soft skills essential for youths to thrive. These include Microsoft Office, coding, business communications, having a success mindset, and how to start a small business – taught by instructors or accessible online.
Six Tech Hubs have already been established in Lombok and Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The remaining hubs are planned in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines by the end of the year.
HP Tech Hubs are part of the company’s broader education initiatives in Asia-Pacific, which has benefited 1.3 million students and adult learners in 2019. These initiatives include: HP LIFE, World on Wheels, Little Makers Challenge and HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab.
Driving a Circular, Low Carbon Economy
To accelerate the shift to a more efficient, circular, low-carbon economy, HP is committing to the global goal of eliminating 75 percent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025. Three hundred million tons of plastic is produced each year worldwide, half of which is for single use and 91 percent is not recycled at all. Packaging is also experiencing an increase in demand as a result of COVID-19. Packaging comprises a significant portion of total waste produced and can affect the health of our planet and people.
HP has made strides towards a circular economy in Asia-Pacific with local and regional programs that are focused on reducing plastic waste, increasing the use of recycled materials, and restoring and protecting forests. The following programs that were made are:
- Project STOP: HP joined Project STOP, which collaborates with companies, governments and communities in Southeast Asia to create effective waste management systems that reduce ocean-bound plastics in Indonesia.
- Tidy Tech Kiwi: HP is tackling the problem of e-waste with the Tidy Tech Kiwi program in New Zealand. In 2019, the program successfully diverted over 8,000 kgs of e-waste from landfills and raised over US$11,000 for seven schools.
- Straw Pallet Program: HP continues its use of recycled material for shipping HP inkjet printers with 52,000 pallets made out of 2,450 tons of straw from China in 2019. The straw would otherwise have been burnt as agricultural waste. Since 2017, more than 164,900 straw pallets have been used, diverting over 7,400 tons of straw.
- HP Sustainable Forest Collaborative: All HP-branded paper is already deforestation-free, and by end 2020, the company is on track to achieve 100% zero-deforestation for all its paper-based product packaging.
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
HP is driving a culture of diversity and inclusion at all levels of the company and remains committed to fighting racial inequality in all forms. HP’s Board of Directors continues to be the most diverse of any U.S. technology company, comprised of 42 percent women and 58 percent minorities. Earlier this year, HP re-committed to the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In 2019, women made up 40 percent of global hires, and 44 percent in Asia.
HP’s programs aimed at nurturing female leadership and providing equal-opportunity employee and development opportunities in Asia includes: HOPE program in China, Disha program in India and Women leadership and HOPE programs in Japan.
To shine a spotlight on these issues globally, HP is partnering with Girl Rising, a global a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating poverty by providing education to women and girls, to launch My Story: The 2020 Storytelling Challenge. This Storytelling Challenge will bring to life examples of young leaders fighting for human rights, racial justice, gender equity and the advancement of education for girls.
HP Inc. shares some of its relief community response initiatives against the coronavirus, from its 3D printing technology, donations and a free online educational resources for kids.
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