Hewlett Packard

Sector: Corporate

Employees:

> 151,000

Carbon Footprint:

> 1,547,000 metric tonnes CO₂e (2005)

TARGETS

> Assist with achieving regional 20% reduction in CO₂e emissions in California’s Silicon Valley by 2010, relative to 1990
> Reduce company-wide PFC emissions 10% of 1995 levels by 2005
> Implement 40 GWh of energy efficiency projects by 2005

Achievements

> Projects implemented achieved 60 GWh of energy savings as of November 2004
> Increased high-end server energy efficiency by 35%
> New ‘Blade’ PC ten times more energy efficient than typical desktop PC
> Reduced overall energy use 6.1% in 2003
> Reduced electricity consumption and gas use 25% and 11% respectively, between 2002 and 2003

Benefits

X

Low Carbon Solutions

Background

Global computer manufacturing giant Hewlett-Packard is one of the largest information technology companies in the world. With revenues of over $80 billion and more than a billion customers across the globe, Hewlett-Packard (HP) employs 151,000 people at 430 sites in 178 countries. HP has a long history of corporate commitment. The company adopted a “global citizenship” objective as early as1957 and was an early leader in the recycling of computer and printer hardware. In 1992, HP launched its Design for Environment (DfE) Program focused on three priority areas: energy efficiency in both the manufacture and use of HP products, designing products for reuse and recyclability and selecting materials for low environmental impact. HP’s integrated approach to environmental management has enabled the company to improve environmental performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions even while weathering tough times in the tech stock sector.

Because electricity use accounts for about 87% of Hewlett-Packard’s operational greenhouse gas emissions, HP has adopted energy efficiency as a company-wide priority, prioritising projects that also deliver cost savings. In 2004 HP set a company target to implement 50 GWh of energy efficiency projects. As of November 2004, more than 60 GWh of annual energy savings was achieved – the equivalent of powering the Eiffel Tower for eight years.
Lighting control systems and lighting upgrades at several U.S. facilities yielded about 11 GWh in annual energy savings. In its Erskine, Scotland facility, lighting and air conditioning changes will yield about 3 GWh in annualised savings. In Melbourne, HP installed alternative HVAC chillers with increased efficiency and variable speed drives on pumps, and air handlers and cooling tower fans to minimise energy consumption.
Global standards for temperature settings, lighting levels and operations schedules maintain optimal energy conservation levels in HP buildings around the world. Most of these have automated heating and cooling control systems make use of outside air for “free” temperature adjustments. All of HP’s new buildings are equipped with these systems and HP is retrofitting older buildings to install comparable energy efficiency systems.
A global ‘Conserve and Preserve’ program was introduced in April 2004 to promote energy awareness among employees. Computer monitors are set up to shut off after 20 minutes of inactivity and estimations are that this measure alone will save approximately 7.8 GWh of energy annually. By removing 6,150 printers and copiers from its offices and replacing them with 3,022 multi-function products that are more energy efficient HP achieved another 2.7 GWh annual reduction in energy use from 2002 to 2003.
Servers are becoming increasingly large energy consumers as internet use grows. HP design improvements have increased the number of transactions that its servers can process per unit of energy consumed by more than 150% since 1998. One new technology, the P-Switch - a communication switching hub introduced in 2003 - uses 5% less power than the Switch 3, its predecessor from the prior year, but achieves double the performance.
Researchers are also working on new approaches for improving the efficiency of servers. HP has a division that provides server and IT operations for companies like Proctor and Gamble. Server efficiency is in both HP and its client companies’ interest. “If we can run a server more efficiently than the competition it’s a win win for us. More efficient servers give our client companies more computer power using the same or less energy than was used previously” says Robert Parkhurst, Global Environmental Program Manager.
Another new approach is server-controlled power management for wireless portable devices. This technology uses workload data from the server to more efficiently drive the data transmissions to clients over the wireless channel. Initial results indicate energy savings of more than a factor of three for streaming media with no performance loss.

HP was one of the first companies to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Greenhouse Gas Register, publicly reporting its third-party verified greenhouse gas emissions in 2003. The greenhouse gas emissions report was based on data collected from HP’s 75 largest sites, comprising 3.9 million square meters - or 71% - of the company’s total floor space. Estimates for the remaining facilities were made as well providing a snapshot of the corporation’s total annual emissions. Between 2002 and 2003 HP estimates that greenhouse gases were reduced by 5.6% over its entire facility space.

With a company-wide commitment to use as little energy as possible, monitoring and measuring is an integral component. Electricity, natural gas and perfluorocarbon (PFC) use are measured quarterly at approximately 100 of the company’s sites representing close to 75% of total global square footage. Energy and PFC usage from the remaining facilities is measured annually. Once a year data from all facilities is rolled up so that the company can see total impact on an annual basis. “We try to look at everything because every facility matters –it’s what helps us see the impact overall” reports Robert Parkhurst, Global Environmental Program Manager.

One of HP’s largest emission reductions in recent years was achieved through the abatement of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) emissions at their manufacturing locations. PFCs are a family of gases widely used in the semi-conductor industry for cleaning and etching. The climate change polluting potential of PFCs is between 6,500 and 23,900 times greater per molecule than that of CO₂. Between 1995 and 2002, HP’s PFC emissions doubled globally due to increased production and product changes.
HP managers initially hoped to substitute PFCs with another gas with a lower global warming potential, but alternative gases did not achieve process requirements. Instead the company utilised an emissions abatement approach with new equipment that emits far fewer PFCs. After resolving technical challenges – the build-up of particulates caused the abatement system to shut down at first, in 2003, the company was able to cut emissions by 26% compared to 2002.

HP’s 1992 Design for Environment (DfE) program includes the following mandates: reduce the energy needed to manufacture and operate HP’s products, design equipment that is easier to upgrade and/or recycle, reduce the amount of materials used in products and develop materials that have less environmental impact and more value at end-of-life.
HP has embraced these goals in a variety of ways, but a central innovation has been the establishment of “product stewards” that monitor product design for environmental benefits throughout all design phases.

HP participates in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® voluntary energy efficiency program. More than 1,000 of the computers, printers, fax machines and other products manufactured by the company are ENERGY STAR® qualified. Even pocket computers with relatively small energy demands have not escaped the company’s scrutiny. HP design teams have incorporated energy savings features into these products in a variety of ways, including screen savers, variable screen brightness and auto-off features. HP’s ‘Blade’ PC is ten times more energy efficient than a typical desktop PC.
To fulfill other Design for Environment goals, HP has the “Planet Partners”TM program, an extensive computer and printer hardware and cartridge return and recycle program. Planet Partners operates in 36 countries and territories. In 2003 the program collected more than 120 million pounds of used products. Since 1991, more than 81 million HP LaserJet cartridges have been recovered. In 2003, 100% of the materials in returned HP LaserJet print cartridges were recycled or recovered for energy, and more than 2,500 tonnes of plastics were recycled to make new products such as trays and wire spools.

In 2004, HP introduced a Supplier Code of Conduct to high priority suppliers that represent 98% of purchasing expenditures. The code states that suppliers must have environmental policies covering energy efficiency, hazardous materials, information and labeling, manufacturing, packaging and product recycling and reuse.
Raising standards for the company’s supply chain is one of HP’s three global citizenship priorities. In 2003, HP spent $52 billion on the procurement of product materials, components and services from thousands of suppliers worldwide, making its supply chain the largest in the information technology industry.

Business travel is HP’s second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, after operational energy use. During 2002, HP employees traveled 1.1 billion miles by commercial plane, equal to about 44,000 trips around the world at the equator, or about 22,000 metric tons of CO₂e greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce this impact, HP employees are encouraged to substitute teleconferencing for travel whenever possible. Web-based meetings and conference calls are used for training and information sharing, and in 2005, HP plans to introduce hybrid vehicles into its company fleet.
HP was one of the first companies to introduce a “Telework” program that allows employees to work from home. In 2003, implementation of the Telework program at facilities in the US and Canada saved around 2 million round-trip commutes. This avoided about 52 million miles of road travel and reduced GHG emissions by 22,020 metric tons CO₂e. The Telework program was recently expanded globally.

Hewlett Packard has already achieved more than 60 GWh of annual energy savings as a result of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

1992, HP launched its Design for Environment (DfE) Program focused on three priority areas: energy efficiency in both the manufacture and use of HP products, designing products for reuse and recyclability and selecting materials for low environmental impact.