TECHNOLOGY

EVERY ORGANISATION AROUND the world , large or small , is talking about sustainability right now . Of course this is all about the need to take care of the planet , but as Kirstie McIntyre , the Director of Global Sustainability Operations at HP explains , it ’ s also driven by customer requirements , and it makes perfect business sense .

In the last two decades businesses have woken up to the fact that the world ’ s resources are running low . Whether it ’ s sustainable development programmes , the Natural Capital Coalition initiative set up by company leaders and conservationists , or HP ’ s adoption of circular economy , ultimately all have the same goal : to assess environmental issues and put practices in motion to limit damage .

“ A lot of them are around the same sort of thing ,” McIntyre says , “ but for me , as a resource specialist , this is what we ’ re driving to , this is what fires me up every day and gets me going .”

HP ’ S CIRCLES McIntyre says it was natural for HP to start recycling . A lot was driven by customers with leftover empty cartridges and old devices

they wanted to get rid of . Then they worked out how to bring those discarded materials back into their own products . This forms the basis of circular economy , which aims to minimise waste , vs the traditional linear economy we ’ re so used of the “ take , make and dispose ” attitude .

It also consists of shifting customers ’ mind-sets from wanting and buying the newest , latest products to purchasing recycled or refurbished

20 August 2017