HP's (NYSE HPQ) latest environmental initiatives related to printers and printing

HP (NYSE HPQ) has a pair of environmentally-themed press releases today, including one headlined HP Extends Environmental Leadership with New Technology to Save Customers Money. The dollars-and-cents linkage to "green" initiatives is not new, but continues to be a growing theme, as some have questioned the future of "esoteric" environmental objectives for companies struggling through tough times. But green-friendly policies can go hand-in-hand with frugality, and HP is wisely taking this tack in today's announcement, with a description of many of the quantifiable improvements HP is helping its customers make with it Eco Solutions Program.

I find some of the printer- and printer-service-related details fascinating (my highlights in bold):

To date, pre- and post-analysis of some HP managed print services [MPS] customers’ imaging and printing operations reveals energy savings of between 30 to 80 percent and reductions in paper consumption in the millions of pages.(1)

In 2008, HP shipped more than 25 million ENERGY STAR qualified printers – more than any other vendor. Additionally, all its new 2009 HP LaserJet and inkjet printer families will have ENERGY STAR qualified offerings. Using Instant-on Technology, found in many HP LaserJet printers, provides up to 50 percent energy savings over traditional fusing and has reduced emissions by 6.4 million tons of CO2 to date – the equivalent of removing nearly 1.4 million cars from the road for 1 year.(11)

For example, by 2011, HP expects to use a total of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic in its printing products (cumulative from 2007). To provide perspective, this is the equivalent of diverting 4 billion plastic water bottles from going to landfill.(12)

The company has already exceeded its 2008 goal to triple the amount of recycled content in its inkjet printer products and double the amount of recycled content used in its inkjet cartridges. To date, HP has sold more than 400 million inkjet cartridges made from its “closed loop” inkjet cartridge recycling process – the industry’s first and only.(13)

(1) Estimated energy and paper savings based on analysis of select HP Managed Print Services customers’ imaging and printing operations using data gathered on their devices and paper consumption and comparing to post-MPS actuals and/or projections.

(11) The tonnes of CO2 avoided is based on power plant emissions that otherwise would occur to generate the electricity saved; cars removed is based on annual emissions from cars burning gasoline.

(12) Calculation assumes that each half-liter, one-use plastic water bottle weighs 11 grams: http://dogmatic.com/MNR/aquafina/ecofinabottle/documents/EcoFinaFactSheet.pdf.

(13) According to internal analysis of available external data, conducted by HP’s Imaging and Printing Group’s Research Alliance.

I will be posting more on some of the "qualitative" points of the program in the coming days.