HP's commitment to global citizenship

Global Citizenship

Supporting information:

Integrity is fundamental to HP’s brand and business. We foster a culture of trust, respect and dignity that earns HP the confidence of employees, investors, customers and other stakeholders. We expect and empower every employee to be an ethical leader who demonstrates our values by doing the right thing. HP adheres to international laws and regulations, as well as our own rigorous Standards of Business Conduct.

We extend our ethical standards to HP suppliers worldwide. Through our supply chain social and environmental (SER) program, we collaborate with local organizations to help top-tier suppliers meet the same rigorous ethical, social and environmental standards. These standards protect workers’ rights, improve suppliers’ work, health and safety conditions, and reduce the environmental impact of their business.

For decades, HP has been leader in promoting environmental sustainability in our product development, operations and supply chain. Today we are extending our leadership by engaging customers, partners, suppliers and policy makers to advance environmental standards and practices in the IT industry and beyond.

We are addressing environmental challenges with smart, practical solutions that help us and our customers conserve resources and minimize impact while saving money and increasing productivity. Improving environmental performance also helps us capitalize on new market opportunities, respond to rising stakeholder expectations and increase the efficiency of our operations, helping us do more with less.

With growing concerns of the impact of climate change on the environment, communities and business, HP is investing in high-impact research and development, promoting industry collaboration and participating in public policy initiatives to accelerate the emerging low-carbon global economy. As an example, HP Labs’ Sustainable IT Ecosystem Lab is pursuing pioneering technologies that minimize energy and materials use, helping reduce the total cost of IT ownership.

Our commitment to environmental sustainability extends to our suppliers. Through our supply chain SER program, we hold suppliers accountable for meeting the same stringent environmental standards we apply to ourselves.

HP sees privacy as fundamental to human dignity and autonomy, and meets or exceeds privacy laws in every country where we operate.

Managed responsibly, privacy drives economic growth by enhancing trust and treating information as a strategic asset. Yet privacy is increasing at risk by advances in technology that transform how personal information is collected, used and shared. Recognizing this challenge, we have implemented a new approach to privacy at HP. Our accountability model goes beyond legal and industry norms to use ethics- and values-based criteria to help guide decisions on managing data.

We safeguard personal information in our operations and supply chain. Through our Design for Privacy program, we make privacy a requirement at the earliest stages of product and service development. In addition, all suppliers and third-party vendors who handle HP customer and employee personal data must comply with HP's strict privacy policies and contractual requirements.

HP promotes and supports collaborative efforts to influence privacy leaders to strengthen the human right to privacy. We believe regulators, civil society and the private sector must work together to address challenges to privacy and data management. We are also working with governments, organizations and stakeholder groups to develop effective privacy practices and to support efforts to help individuals control how their information is used.

In 2008, HP made contributions totaling more than $46 million, with particular emphasis on advancing education and promoting entrepreneurship. Since 2001, we have invested nearly $246 million.

Technology can be a powerful catalyst in transforming learning by giving teachers and students new ways to explore, share and connect beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom. HP assists institutions and organizations that are applying technology in creative ways to engage secondary and higher education students, empower entrepreneurs and cultivate the next generation of innovators.

In addition to our commitment to education, we have a long history of community engagement. HP and our employees donate money, technology, time and expertise to underserved communities and to those in urgent need around the world.

Looking ahead, global citizenship will continue to be vital to HP’s success—and the success of our customers. As the world responds to unprecedented economic, environmental and social challenges, our commitment to leading positive and lasting change will help guide our business, develop innovative solutions and create business value.

For more information about our global citizenship performance, read our Global Citizenship Report 2008.