{"id":907704,"date":"2026-05-23T08:16:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/a-year-in-the-life-at-hp-what-matters-to-its-sustainability-lead-in-may-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T08:16:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:16:56","slug":"a-year-in-the-life-at-hp-what-matters-to-its-sustainability-lead-in-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/a-year-in-the-life-at-hp-what-matters-to-its-sustainability-lead-in-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"A year in the life at HP: What matters to its sustainability lead in\u00a0May\u00a02026?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to technological innovation, ensuring your value chain\u2014from manufacturing to\u00a0logistics\u2014is\u00a0good for the planet\u00a0is no easy feat.\u00a0Nevertheless,\u00a0savvy companies know that pursuing sustainability is crucial and HP<\/a> is no exception.\u00a0For our second installment of our year-in-the-life series,\u00a0Fortune<\/em>\u00a0spoke with Nancy Powell,\u00a0manager for sustainability for the UK&I and EMEA markets on how\u00a0to go green,\u00a0in spite of\u00a0the challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Priorities:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0your big focus for 2026?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Empowering customers with more sustainable choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sustainability is\u00a0often a set of\u00a0public targets,\u00a0which you put\u00a0on a timeline horizon and then galvanize\u00a0the business\u00a0to move\u00a0towards that. And many businesses, I think, have thought about it very much as their own performance:\u00a0how do we get from here to that public target?\u00a0The big movement that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0part of\u00a0at the moment\u00a0is how sustainability solves a problem for the customer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0not just\u00a0a question of how we\u00a0bake\u00a0sustainability\u00a0into our hardware and software\u00a0before\u00a0handing\u00a0it over, but how we think about it from manufacturing through to delivery,\u00a0from how\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0using it\u00a0to how they dispose of it.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0no longer a side\u00a0program;\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about how\u00a0sustainability\u00a0is valuable to our customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At\u00a0a very basic\u00a0level, many of our customers will have their own targets that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0trying to meet.\u00a0So,\u00a0when they look at where that\u00a0carbon\u00a0footprint comes from,\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0look at all the things influencing that, and\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0see that their tech,\u00a0hardware\u00a0and choices are a chunky bit of that pie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u00a0are\u00a0also efficiency choices and value choices that they want to make.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0weighing up performance and cost, but\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0also trying to think about the energy consumption of the hardware, so their bills are going down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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84<\/p>\n

HP rank on Fortune 500<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

When we give customers\u00a0a\u00a0product,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0also handing them a packaging problem to solve.\u00a0If we give them\u00a0multiple\u00a0different materials\u00a0wrapped in multiple\u00a0different ways, with single-use\u00a0plastic,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0all waste streams that\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0then got to sort out.\u00a0You\u00a0have to\u00a0solve those problems for them. You\u00a0have to\u00a0take some of this friction out, both\u00a0to meet their\u00a0objectives, but also just to make their lives\u00a0easier\u00a0when it comes to thinking about the materials, the hardware,\u00a0and the practicalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pep talks and preparation: How did you motivate your team at the beginning of the year?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Working in sustainability\u00a0has\u00a0never been easy, but things are changing. When I started\u00a025 years ago, you were explaining what it was\u2014you\u2019re\u00a0definitely not\u00a0doing that\u00a0now. In terms of\u00a0profile and relevance\u00a0and importance, particularly for the\u00a0EMEA region, sustainability is now\u00a0there in procurement requirements,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0there in contracts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0demands, however,\u00a0are as challenging as\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0always been\u2014and\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0growing. The\u00a0expectations coming from our customers so that they can meet regulatory data requirements or reporting requirements in their market\u00a0are\u00a0growing as well.\u00a0So,\u00a0for my team,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0challenging in the sense that what is brought into that bracket of sustainability is growing in a very practical and meaningful way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cData is always going to be the\u00a0big\u00a0challenge for sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

I think when you give people a pep talk,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0often\u00a0because\u00a0you need\u00a0that pep talk yourself!\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0a very optimistic\u00a0leader\u00a0so,\u00a0in spite of\u00a0the challenges,\u00a0from where\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sitting,\u00a0there are\u00a0some exciting things\u00a0happening and\u00a0some huge opportunities. In Europe, our customers are extremely demanding for sustainability\u2014as they should be\u2014 and I think\u00a0we can\u00a0all\u00a0see huge opportunity\u00a0there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Worries:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0keeping you up at night?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Data is always going to be the\u00a0big\u00a0challenge for sustainability.\u00a0The robustness of data, the cadence with which you can collect it\u00a0and\u00a0share it, the\u00a0methodology, and the\u00a0issues\u00a0around\u00a0convergence within the sector.\u00a0These are things that\u00a0cause friction\u00a0and frustration between businesses.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0part of a channel community\u00a0so\u00a0we collaborate and partner with so many businesses that trying to create convergence between how I measure my product carbon footprint and how you measure yours\u00a0is\u00a0perennially difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trade-offs:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0one compromise\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0made this year to reach a more strategic goal?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

That is sustainability full stop:\u00a0trade-offs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0talking to customers,\u00a0you need to discuss whether you\u00a0should\u00a0consider the\u00a0product carbon footprint of the device\u00a0first and foremost? Although, hang on a second, you could have a piece of hardware\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0got\u00a0way more\u00a0recycled content in its casings or in the shaft. If\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0only driving down the product carbon footprint, then do we miss the opportunity to have some\u00a0really innovative\u00a0new waste streams recycled and incorporated into that?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Magic metrics: What is one number\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0looking for at the end of this month to signal\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0been a success?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

My favorite number that I track is the number of customers and partners that\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0met each\u00a0quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I do it as a sign of my level of engagement outside the business. Because\u00a0our\u00a0vision as a business is to be completely\u00a0customer-centric.\u00a0So\u00a0one of the reasons I measure\u00a0this is to ask myself: \u201cAre you doing it? Nancy, are you spending enough time\u00a0being customer-centric?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

I learn most from customers. I drive\u00a0the\u00a0most\u00a0value\u00a0for HP by spending my time with customers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking\u00a0at the percentage of my\u00a0diary,\u00a0I should be\u00a0spending\u00a0nearly\u00a050%\u00a0of my time with customers and partners. I categorize all my customer and partner engagement in my\u00a0calendar in purple so if I look and see\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a good slug of purple in there, I know\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0doing\u00a0a good job.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Francesca Cassidy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to technological innovation, ensuring your value chain\u2014from manufacturing to\u00a0logistics\u2014is\u00a0good for the planet\u00a0is no easy feat.\u00a0Nevertheless,\u00a0savvy companies know that pursuing sustainability is crucial and HP is no exception.\u00a0For our second installment of our year-in-the-life series,\u00a0Fortune\u00a0spoke with Nancy Powell,\u00a0manager for sustainability for the UK&I and EMEA markets on how\u00a0to go green,\u00a0in spite of\u00a0the challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":907705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32801,2539],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-907704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matters","8":"category-sustainability"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}