Corporate Social Responsibility at HP

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"The Internet and related information technologies hold the promise of rapid, sustainable economic growth that directly benefits everyone on the planet. However, the same forces could also exacerbate social and economic disparities. How much of each the world will see depends to some degree on how companies like HP approach sustainability and the deployment of technology across markets, cultures and continents." ¹

- Carly Fiorina, Chairman, President and CEO of HP in 2000.

Introduction

In April 2005, HP became one of the four American and Canadian firms to bag the Ceres-ACCA Award. HP bagged the award for Best Sustainability Reporting. This award was given by the Boston-based Ceres Coalition² and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).³

The Ceres-ACCA awards were constituted in the year 2002 to highlight best practices in reporting sustainability, social and environmental issues by US and Canadian firms. HP was chosen from among 68 North American organizations. In the award ceremony, Mindy S. Lubber, President of Ceres said, "With the expanded information-sharing capabilities of the 21st century, investors and consumers make an increasing number of their decisions based on a company's handling of environmental, social and other sustainability issues. These reports are one of the key ways companies can communicate these issues to investors and other stakeholders."4 The US-based HP was a technology solutions company that catered to individual consumers, small businesses and large organizations in the world.

The company offered information technology (IT) infrastructure such as servers and storage systems, desktop personal computers (PCs) for home use, desktop PCs for office use, workstations, notebooks, printers, fax, copiers and scanners, digital cameras, televisions and other entertainment systems. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, HP revenues totaled US$ 86.2 billion. It employed 151,000 people in more than 170 countries.

This has been demonstrated time and again through programs such as our internal product recycling initiative introduced in 1987, and efforts to reduce energy consumption at our facilities."⁵ (Refer Exhibit I for HP's Global Citizenship Framework).

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1] "HP Announces World e-Inclusion," www.e-greenstar.com, October 12, 2000.

2] Established in 1989, Ceres Coalition is a network of 85 companies engaged in investment funds, environmental organizations and other public interest groups. The objective of Ceres is to advance environment stewardship among organizations. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has now become the international standard for corporate reporting on economic, social and environmental performance.

3] Established in 1904, ACCA is an international accountancy body with 240,000 students and 105,000 members in 170 countries. It offers education qualifications for people seeking a career in accountancy, finance and management. ACCA has been promoting transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development for over a decade.

4] "Hewlett-Packard and Gap Win Sustainability Reporting Awards," www.ceres.org, April 07, 2005.

5] Goldberg, Lee H., "Survival of the Greenest: An Interview with Ken Larson, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, at Hewlett-Packard," www.analogzone.com, 2005.