Why Our Channel Partners are the Key for Building a More Sustainable Future

The concept of a ‘circular economy’ - a model of production and consumption which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible(1) - has become an increasingly important - and urgent, idea.??

Why? Because right now we are using up our planet’s natural resources 1.8(2) times faster than the Earth can regenerate them, every year. And this overconsumption is accelerating – we will reach 2.3x(3) by 2050. Today, the world economy is only 7.2% circular(4) – so we have a long road ahead of us.??

Yet this is a journey that, for the sake of all life on earth and future generations, we must take - and we can only get there, if we go together.??

Collaboration is the key

Circularity is a team effort, and it’s not only large, global companies like HP that have a major role to play. Startups have the inherent agility necessary to build more circular operating systems from inception, and enterprise organisations bring more resources and scale. In other words, companies of all sizes can do something to leverage their advantages and adopt more sustainable business practices - from minimising waste and recycling materials to developing more efficient means of production.??

Yet the biggest, and most valuable changes can only happen if we all work together.??

HP has been on its own journey to operationalise sustainability for decades. Still, our ongoing progress to become fully circular, through our products, services and design relies on collaboration with a broad network of government, suppliers, industry bodies, NGOs, research institutes and think tanks.??

And, most importantly of all – our channel partners, OEMs, and shared customers.??

The channel is integral to our sustainability goals and the success of our circularity efforts.? This is why we created HP Amplify Impact , an industry-first partner assessment, resource, and training programme aimed at advancing Sustainable Impact across our business ecosystem.?????

We have engaged more than 3,500 partners, worldwide, in the programme, and the response from the UK has been especially impressive, with the top 80% of UK partners having signed the HP Amplify Impact Pledge.??

By offering partners free access to an online training platform of the highest quality, which provides a range of sustainability sales tools, courses, compliance advice, accreditation, and supporting marketing assets, we’re combining forces more effectively to drive change at scale.??

?What partners stand to gain

This work directly supports the channel’s sales revenue generation too. We hear every day that partners are increasingly being judged according to their sustainability credentials as a standard part of new account acquisition. While larger resellers may well have the resources, teams, and strategies in place to meet these demands, many smaller or medium sized resellers really need and appreciate the additional expert guidance and support.??

Crucially, we also collaborate closely with our partners’ sales teams through the Amplify Impact programme to discuss the sustainability questions and feedback they’re getting from customers and prospects and how they can answer. Being able to explain what sustainability work their company is doing in the most effective way possible helps to win more business.??

Customers are only going to become more conscious of the impact of their purchasing decisions on the environment - as the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss are more keenly felt. Thus, prioritising circularity will become less and less optional, and more of a strategic imperative for any company that wants to achieve long-term commercial success.??

There are also huge commercial benefits from the sheer efficiencies of improved circularity. Yes, some initial investment is usually required, but the long-term results make it worth it. From lower energy bills and new revenue streams from, say, paid-for repair programmes, to reduced materials consumption - which reduces the pressure on supply chains, too.??

Cradle-to-cradle takes a partner ecosystem

As well as helping our channel partners understand the circular economy and improve their own sustainability, HP must deliver sustainable, competitive products and services for the channel to sell. This takes a sophisticated ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach that considers every stage of the supply chain and product lifecycle and relies on the support of all our partners.???

At the planning stage we use circular design principles to create products with the environment in mind. This requires them to be durable, highly energy efficient, built from more recycled, high-performance materials, all while reducing or eliminating unnecessary parts to cut raw material consumption.??

For sourcing, we have invested in an ecosystem that helps us use and create more regenerative materials. All HP-branded paper has come from recycled or certified sources since 2016, and we’ve set a goal to become Forest Positive by 2030 . This means that, with WWF’s help, we will calculate the paper footprint for millions of HP printers and give back to forests in equal measure or more, through forest protection, management, and restoration. We have also built an ocean-bound plastics recycling centre in Haiti, which prevents this material from reaching the sea, and instead repurposes it for use in HP products and supplies.??

We’re also using 3D Printing technology in our own manufacturing processes to reduce waste, lower energy consumption and cut the need for storage space as we can create spare parts on demand. HP is also on a path to using 100% renewable energy and producing zero waste to landfill across all manufacturing operations.?

When it comes to packaging, HP is aiming to eliminate 75% of single-use plastic by 2025 when compared to 2018. We’re also investing in some promising packaging R&D projects, such as the use of naturally discarded and 100% compostable crustacean shells, made of chitin, as well as testing ways to print directly onto product shipment boxes using water-based inks, which saves both paper and plastic.??

And finally, to help further extend product lifecycles and close the loop, we offer extended warranties, and work to ensure HP products are rated highly for their repairability(5), as well as working hard to properly recover and reuse products when customers do want to dispose of them. The HP Planet Partners programme recently reached the remarkable milestone of having recycled more than one billion print cartridges.????

Bringing it all together

It’s this supply chain infrastructure and years of R&D investment that have enabled us to launch new products like EvoCycle - a print toner cartridge that’s made of 76% recycled and reused original HP parts . It is a great example of how many of the elements required for a more circular economy can come together effectively, all while improving the customer experience.??

EvoCycle, which is manufactured in Europe, is HP’s most sustainable cartridge yet, and demonstrates what a commercially viable, more circular, reduce, reuse, and recycle process can look like.??

The first steps are obviously for a customer to choose and use an original HP or EvoCycle cartridge. After use, they can return it for free via the Planet Partner programme, which provides pre-addressed, postage-paid label and envelopes, as well as a broad range of convenient drop off locations.??

All cartridges returned within Europe are sent to our European recycling and manufacturing facility, where they are disassembled, with every single component being either recycled or reused.??

HP then builds new HP EvoCycle Toner cartridges using recycled or reused parts, while some components critical to print quality are replaced with new Original HP parts.??

We then supply or resupply new EvoCycle cartridges to our European customers, taking advantage of the shorter supply chains as collection, manufacturing and fulfilment are all happening in the same region, while delivering the excellent reliability and high performance expected of standard HP cartridges.??

Personally, I find the promise of a more circular economy to be as encouraging as it is motivating, and I’m grateful I get the chance to help build it at HP - thanks to the support of our channel partners. A more sustainable, regenerative approach to business will build a better world for everyone and shows we can achieve economic growth while living more in harmony with the environment.??

However, for all this positivity - we must not forget the necessity of this work. Making the transition to a more sustainable and circular way of operating is not optional. We must continue to evolve our mindsets, invest in our partnerships, and embrace these vital changes, together.??

If you’re as excited as I am about the journey ahead - please do get in touch because I’d love to continue the conversation.??

1 Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO0560

2 Overshoot Day. How Many Earths or Countries Do We Need? https://www.overshootday.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/

3 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Vision 2050: The new agenda for business https://www.wbcsd.org/contentwbc/download/1746/21728/1

4 Circularity Gap Report 2023, Circle Economy https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023

5 HP Sustainable Impact Report