Stepping up to protect our planet

As the world comes together to mark Climate Week, the task of combating climate change has never been more urgent.

I live with my family in the Bay Area. We’ve seen the same otherworldly skies and inhaled the same wildfire smoke as so many have in recent weeks. And we’ve watched, with heartbreak and outrage, as people across California, Oregon, Washington, and the Western United States have lost their homes—and, in some cases, their lives—to these devastating fires.

And whether it’s these wildfires or the brushfires that ravaged Australia last year, the recent hurricanes along the Gulf Coast of the United States, the historic flooding we’ve seen in China, or the many other devastating examples around the world, we can no longer afford to deny the stark reality: Climate change is not some abstract danger. It’s not a problem we can keep kicking down the road, hoping someone else will come along and solve it. It is threatening us all right now, and all of us must rally together to stop it.

At HP, we are providing resources to affected employees and supporting relief efforts. But the truth is, companies like ours have a much broader role to play when it comes to protecting our planet, reducing our impact on the environment, and putting sustainability at the heart of our business.

That is why today we announced a new partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant one million trees by the end of this year, an important step in restoring the world’s forests.

In addition, we announced that we will reduce the amount of water consumed in our global operations by 35 percent over the next five years.

These are two important steps forward as we build on our longstanding commitment to protect and restore forests, create a world without waste, and build resilient communities everywhere.

But we can’t win this fight on our own. Like so many of the issues we’ve faced this year, the climate crisis reveals how interconnected we all really are. So, we need others to join us. To that end, last week at HP Reinvent, we made a pledge: By 2025, at least 50 percent of our partners will join Amplify Impact, a first-of-its-kind program that will mobilize our channel ecosystem to help advance sustainability, build diverse and inclusive workforces, and unlock the full potential of communities.

If the only reason we were doing all of this were to meet the climate challenge, that would be enough. But embracing sustainability is also what’s best for our business, helping us catalyze new breakthroughs, attract new consumers and partners, and drive future growth. It’s this understanding of our business and its place in the world that allows us to be not only an engine of innovation—but an engine of change.

A few weeks ago, I read an article about a California firefighter, David Serna, who lost his own home in the recent wildfires. When asked why he would risk his life to do this work, David replied, “I love this land and I love our people.” His father was quoted, too, adding about his son: “We all have a duty station in life. He found his early on.”

I am grateful to David and all the firefighters and frontline workers who are doing their part right now. And all of us at HP and across the private sector must do our part, as well—not only on behalf of our companies, but on behalf of our communities and our planet.