Remember When

PHOTOGRAPH FROM HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY ARCHIVES

Long before corporations were mandated to reduce pollution , HP was prioritizing sustainability as early as the 1950s . In 1969 , company objectives specifically included environmental sustainability as a component of good corporate citizenship , asserting that “ it means solving , instead of contributing to , the problems of traffic and pollution .” These early efforts were centered on recycling , reducing pollution , and water conservation . Even HP ’ s headquarters show an appreciation of green spaces , with low buildings surrounded by trees and gardens . ¶ Employees also felt it was important to preserve the planet . In 1970 , Egon Loebner , an expert on electro-luminescence from HP Labs , gave the keynote speech at Sacramento State College ’ s celebration of the first Earth Day . In the same year , HP helped Palo Alto implement its first municipal recycling program ; by year ’ s end , it was recycling 30,000 pounds of material every week . In September 1970 , the company created a new position of Environmental Events Coordinator . Bill Hewlett explained , “ We have always felt that we have a basic responsibility to ... enhance rather than diminish the local environment .” ¶ Soon HP implemented its own groovy recycling system , shown here . The company newsletter Watt ’ s Current reported , “ There was an immediate response , and soon boxes began to appear ... bearing exotic labels like ‘ Tree Saver ,’ ‘ Recycle ,’ and ‘ Ecology .’ ’’ HP also made significant investments in other areas , recycling chemicals whenever it could and cleaning its own wastewater . That sense of environmental responsibility has only grown : Last year , HP recycled 528,300 metric tons of product and achieved zero deforestation in HP-branded paper .

— Andrea Bell-Matthews

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