Vital Signs: HP's environmental goals

On the topic of vital signs relating to corporate sustainability initiatives, HP is setting a strong example of how global organizations can contribute to the reduction of their carbon footprint:

Picking up on the Davos call for investments needed to develop a clean energy infrastructure and move to towards a low-carbon economy, the following recent post was higlighted by the "Green SOCH @ ISBR" blog:

"Sustainable computing - As part of this program, they are upgrading the core sites in a phased approach, with new technology and more efficient use of space. Through this and other energy efficiency initiatives, they reduced absolute energy use from operations by 1% in 2006. That equals savings of approximately 35 million kWh and reduction of the carbon footprint by 18,000 tons of greenhouse gases. HP has set a goal to reduce the combined energy consumption of HP operations and products 20% below 2005 levels by 2010."

More specifically from HP's 2008 Global Citizenship Report, HP has set the following target metrics:

2010

HP will reduce the combined energy consumption and associated GHG emissions of HP operations and products by 25 percent below 2005 levels¹ by achieving the following:

• Operations: HP will reduce energy consumption and the resulting GHG emissions from HP-owned and HP-leased facilities worldwide to 16 percent below 2005 levels.²


• Products: HP will reduce the energy consumption of HP products³ and associated GHG emissions through specific goals for representative product categories, including the following goals for some of HP’s highest-volume PCs, printers and servers families:
• Improve energy efficiency for high-volume server families by 50 percent, relative to 2005⁴
• Reduce the energy consumption of volume desktop and notebook PC families by 25 percent, relative to 2005⁵

2011

• Products: Improve energy efficiency for high-volume printer families by 40 percent, relative to 2005⁶

Progress: We reached 19.2 percent reduction in our combined operations and products energy use at the end of October 2007, the end of HP’s reporting year. We are confident that we surpassed the 20 percent mark by February 2008, more than two and a half years early.

Reference:
Green Soch @ ISBR

World Economic Forum Report: US $515 Billion needed in Green Investments

The WEF's Green Investing: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure report was released on 29 January 2009 and it contains some vital signs for Green investments:

"New Energy Finance, which collaborated with the World Economic Forum on the report, warns that unless at least US$ 515 billion per annum is invested in clean energy between now and 2030, carbon emissions will reach a level deemed unsustainable by scientists, causing temperatures to rise by two degrees globally."

"The report identifies eight emerging, large-scale clean energy sectors that are expected to significantly contribute in the move to a clean energy infrastructure of the future: onshore wind, offshore wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal electricity generation, municipal solar waste-to-energy, sugar-based ethanol, cellulosic and next generation biofuels, and geothermal power."

"Clean energy opportunities have the potential to generate significant economic returns. The report shows that even after a tumultuous 2008, an index of the world’s 90 leading clean energy companies had a five-year compounded annualized return of almost 10%, unmatched by the world’s major stock indices."

Other highlights from the report include:
• Clean energy investments increased from around US$ 30 billion in 2004 to over US$ 140 billion by 2008. Investments in 2008 exceeded expectations at US$ 155 billion (the report is based on projections for 2008 – which suggests that US$ 142 billion would be invested by year-end).
• Investment in clean energy has not only increased, but has also diversified geographically. Developing countries attracted 23% (US$ 26 billion) of asset financing in 2007, compared to 13% (US$ 1.8 billion) in 2004.
• In addition, four key enablers for a shift to clean energy will be energy efficiency, smart grids, energy storage, and carbon capture and storage.
• Well-developed conditions for innovation, markets for clean energy through public procurement, energy efficiency standards and stable and simple policies are essential to meet the climate change challenge

The report provides a solid foundation for scenario planning for clean energy initiatives.

References:
Press Release: World Economic Forum Report: US $ 515 Billion needed in Green Investments;

Shaping an Opportunity Out of Crisis: A message to participants in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 from Members of the Global Agenda Council on Climate Change

WEF 2009 (Davos) - "Shaping the Post-Crisis World"

The 2009 World Economic Forum, the overall them being 'Shaping the Post-Crisis World', is under way in Davos, Switzerland 28 January 2009 to 1 February 2009. The WEF backgrounder is summarized here:

"The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 promises to be one of the most important events in the Forum’s history. The significance of the Meeting is such that 42 heads of state and government have already confirmed their participation in Davos-Klosters where they will join business leaders as well as NGOs, Trade Unions and experts from a wide range of fields. The Meeting will be focused on managing the current crisis and shaping the entire post-crisis agenda, from economic reform to climate change. Participation is by invitation only and strictly limited to the criteria and quota of each stakeholder group. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 is characterized by the unparalleled quality of its business participation. This year, over 2,500 participants from the business, political and cultural communities will address the Annual Meeting’s overall theme − Shaping the Post-Crisis World. There is a unique opportunity at the beginning of 2009 for leaders from industry, government and civil society to shape this transformation at an early stage for the benefit of all stakeholders. The objective of the Annual Meeting 2009 is to catalyse a holistic and systematic approach to improve the state of the world in a manner that integrates all stakeholders of global society. An important preparatory conference convened the most comprehensive network of experts in the world in Dubai in November. Over 700 members of 69 Global Agenda Councils met to advance solutions to the most critical challenges facing humanity. Their insights and recommendations have helped to catalyse solutions for the manifold challenges we face in 2009."

The webcasts are provided at the following link: http://gaia.world-television.com/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2009/

For those looking for a English mainstream media view of the conference, check these links: CNN http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/news/davos/ and The Times(UK) http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/wef/

The panel sessions this year are a rich source of metrics necessary for forward looking executives when planning future business scenarios. In a series of forthcoming entries, I will be reviewing the sessions with a specific look at the global economic metrics and vital signs mentioned.

WEF References: WEF Global Risks Report 2008, Session Summaries