HP and WWF Announce Bold Partnership Expansion to Conserve and Restore Forests

Rhea-AI Summary

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) has announced an $80 million partnership expansion with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to enhance forest conservation efforts. This collaboration is part of HP’s climate action strategy, aiming to restore nearly 1 million acres of forest by 2030. HP is the first technology company to pursue science-based targets for forests, addressing the environmental impact of paper usage from its printers. The initiative supports biodiversity and aims to counterbalance the forest resources used in HP products, reinforcing HP's commitment to sustainability.

Positive

• Announced $80 million partnership expansion with WWF for forest conservation.
• Aims to restore nearly 1 million acres of forest landscapes.
• First technology company to pilot science-based targets for forests.

Negative

• None.

Collaboration aims to ensure paper printed with an HP product or service will help restore, protect and improve the health of forests by 2030¹

News highlights:

• Announces WWF’s largest U.S. corporate partnership to-date
• Pledges $80 million² to expand its partnership with WWF to address the impacts on forests from printing^¹ with HP printers
• Partners to restore, protect, and improve the management of nearly 1 million acres of forest landscapes, an area approximately five times the size of New York City
• HP is one of the first technology companies to address its broader impacts on nature associated with its products and services
• WWF joins HP’s Sustainable Forest Collaborative ahead of COP26

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, in advance of the 26^th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) announced an $80 million partnership expansion with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to further its commitment to forest conservation as part of HP’s comprehensive climate action strategy. By doing so, HP raises the bar for corporate leadership on nature-based solutions as the first company to pilot science-based targets for forests with WWF and becomes WWF’s largest U.S. corporate partner to-date.

While HP already maintains zero-deforestation status for its HP paper and paper-based packaging, this collaboration will support HP’s growing series of commitments to forest conservation around the world. It will also enable HP to make progress on its goal to counterbalance forest resources attributable to non-HP paper used in its products and print services by 2030.^¹

Nearly half of all global forests are under threat of deforestation and forest degradation. This represents a major risk to biodiversity, water, people and businesses that depend on healthy forests. Research shows that nature-based solutions, such as sustainable land management and forest protection and restoration, can contribute up to 30 percent of the climate mitigation needed by 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting climate change to 1.5^oC. Conserving forests is one of the ways HP is combating climate change.

“At HP, we understand this decade is critical for addressing climate change. Given the impact forests have on the air we breathe, habitats for wildlife, and the livelihoods of communities around the world, they are critical for human survival as well as material to our business,” said James McCall, chief sustainability officer, HP Inc. “This partnership is designed to help counterbalance every page printed on an HP printer by regenerating critical forest ecosystems globally. Forest positive printing has the potential to ensure a better future for everyone, everywhere.”

HP first announced its Forest Positive vision for print in 2019,³ pledging to “give back to the forest more than it takes.” To realize its Forest Positive vision, HP and its partners are working together to conserve vital forest ecosystems.

“To truly solve the dual climate and nature crises, we need companies to go even further than their immediate supply chains,” said Carter Roberts, president & CEO of WWF. “Solving these problems means taking responsibility for emissions and environmental impacts from the entire life cycle of a company’s products. By pledging to address forest resources used for paper outside its supply chain, HP is accelerating ambition for corporate climate and nature commitments. And by helping us pioneer the development of science-based targets for forests, HP is building a road map for others to follow.”

A First-of-Its-Kind Partnership
This expanded $80 million partnership with WWF will address 17 million metric tons of paper used in both consumer and commercial HP printers over 10 years. That is equivalent to sustainably managing, restoring and protecting nearly 1 million acres (384,000 hectares) of forest. By regenerating forest health at a scale that considers not just HP brand paper but the total amount of paper run through its printers, HP is making a bold commitment to protect nature as one of the first technology companies to consider its broader downstream environmental impact in addition to its carbon emissions from its own operations and value chain.

This announcement also builds on HP’s support of WWF’s development of science-based targets for forests. HP is the first company to pilot science-based targets for forests by applying a new methodology developed by WWF to estimate the impacts more comprehensively on forestlands from printing. Based on those estimated impacts, HP will protect, restore and improve the management of a requisite area of forests. Models developed with funding from HP will help identify key regions of the world for forest conservation and better estimate the carbon and nature benefits of forest actions. HP is helping advance this new movement to ensure nature-based solutions are informed by the best available science and protecting co-benefits forest ecosystems provide for people, plants and animals.

Accelerating Our Impact
Prior to this expansion, HP and WWF began working together in September 2019 to harness nature-based solutions to deliver on biodiversity conservation, clean water and air, and climate resilience in Brazil’s threatened Atlantic Forest and China’s Fujian, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. Over the past two years, WWF and HP engaged over 50 local institutions in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest in native forest restoration and 54 community members in China to ensure the responsible management of their bamboo and forest lands. In support of the Raízes do Mogi Guaçu project in Brazil, 158 acres of land are under restoration. In China, over 35,257 acres of bamboo and mixed forests are now under Forest Stewardship Council^® smallholder certification. HP and WWF have also been working together for over a decade on responsible sourcing, and HP is now part of Forests Forward, WWF’s new program to engage business, communities and other key forest stakeholders to help transform the way we value, manage, protect and restore forests to sustain business, people and nature.

As part of this partnership expansion, WWF is also joining HP’s Sustainable Forest Collaborative, a cross-industry collaboration to demonstrate scientific and commercially viable approaches to keep working forest ecosystems healthy.

Learn More

Visit the following links for more details:

• HP’s Sustainable Impact Website
• WWF

About HP
HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through our product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions, we engineer experiences that amaze. More information about HP Inc. is available at http://www.hp.com.

Vanessa Forbes, HP
Vanessa.Forbes@hp.com

Tom Suiter, HP
Tom.Suiter@hp.com

www.hp.com/go/newsroom

©Copyright 2021 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

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¹ Fiber by weight will be 1) certified to rigorous third-party standards, 2) recycled or 3) balanced by forest restoration, protection, and other initiatives through HP’s Forest Positive Framework. Paper does not include fiber-based substrates for HP industrial presses not listed in HP Media Solutions Locator catalogues. HP 2020 Sustainable Impact Report.
² Pursuant to agreement between WWF and HP dated January 1, 2022.
³ HP Forest Positive Framework is a strategic foundation for delivering on HP forest ambitions.

FAQ

What is HPQ's partnership with WWF about?

HPQ's partnership with WWF focuses on an $80 million commitment to enhance forest conservation and aims to restore nearly 1 million acres of forest landscapes.

How much is HPQ investing in forest conservation?

HPQ is investing $80 million to expand its partnership with WWF for forest conservation.

What are the goals of the HPQ and WWF partnership?

The goals include restoring and protecting forests while addressing the impacts of paper usage from HP printers.

What is HPQ's target year for its forest restoration goals?

HPQ aims to achieve its forest restoration goals by the year 2030.

How does HPQ's initiative impact its business?

The initiative positions HPQ as a leader in sustainability, potentially enhancing its brand reputation and customer loyalty.