HP's Sustainable Design

HP's greatest environmental impact is through customer use of our products and services. Our goal is to improve customers' lives and work by providing simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology. We integrate environmental considerations into our business strategy because this results in better products.

Since 1992, we have focused on specific environmental issues through our Design for Environment (DfE) program. DfE is an engineering perspective in which the environmentally related characteristics of a product, process or facility are optimized. Together, HP's product stewards and product designers identify, prioritize and recommend environmental improvements through a company-wide DfE program.

The DfE program has three priorities:

1. Energy efficiency - reduce the energy needed to manufacture and use our products

2. Materials innovation - reduce the amount of materials used in our products and develop materials that have less environmental impact and more value at end-of-life

3. Design for recyclability - design equipment that is easier to upgrade and/or recycle

These priorities are achieved by:

• Placing environmental stewards on every design team to identify design changes that may reduce environmental impact throughout the product’s life cycle.
• Eliminating the use of polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame-retardants where applicable.
• Reducing the number and types of materials used, and standardizing on the types of plastic resins used.
• Using molded-in colors and finishes instead of paint, coatings or plating whenever possible.
• Helping customers reduce energy consumption with HP’s printing, imaging and computing products.

• Increasing the use of pre-and post-consumer recycled materials in product packaging.
• Minimizing customer waste burdens by using fewer product or packaging materials overall.
• Designing for disassembly and recyclability by implementing solutions such as the ISO 11469 plastics labeling standard, minimizing the number of fasteners and the number of tools necessary for disassembly.

Design for environment is helpful to raise awareness of companies and customers in acting environmental friendly. Also the concept of green or protection of environment could also become a business strategy that attracts certain customers who have interest on such topic.
However, the design for environment may limit or reduce the choice of company in choosing suppliers for raw materials and hence increase the cost in production and management. Environmental friend materials tends to have higher price than normal materials, (although there may be some innovations that both reduce cost and green). The trade off between protecting environment and its cost would bring hesitate for many companies to take actions.

Reference: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/environment/design-for-environment.html