HP Integates Global Citizenship to Drive Business Value

Sep 17, 2012 3:30 PM ET

Global Citizenship Strategy

As one of the world’s largest technology companies—with operations in more than 170 countries—our technology and our people matter to the world. Global citizenship is rooted in values that have successfully guided our company for more than 70 years. Employees, customers, and other key stakeholders increasingly look to HP for leadership in responsible operations, innovative products and solutions, collaboration, and capability building.

HP embraces our role as a global citizen, and we recognize that what we do and how we do it matters. Global citizenship is pervasive throughout our business strategy. It is integrated into our policies and aligns with our core values. It spans everything from ethics, human rights, and environmental sustainability to privacy, responsible supply chain management, and social innovation. Nearly 350,000 employees bring our values to life.

Today the world faces serious challenges—such as responsibly meeting the needs of a fast-growing population, addressing the effects of climate change, and advancing global health solutions. No single entity can meet these challenges alone. Governments, nongovernmental organizations, and companies all have an essential role to play.

To make a positive impact, we collaborate across institutions, industries, sectors, and borders. We apply our scale, talent, partnerships, and portfolio to help develop solutions to major environmental and social issues.

Through these efforts, we build strong, collaborative, and trusting relationships with diverse stakeholders. Their commitment and expertise help us to refine our global citizenship strategy to improve the lives and businesses of people around the world.

Global citizenship also makes us more competitive, spurs innovation, helps us attract and retain the best employees, and fuels growth.

Global citizenship priorities

During the coming decade, we intend to continue to focus on enhancing environmental sustainability across the product life cycle, building a leading human rights program, promoting supply chain responsibility and improving suppliers’ capabilities, being among the leaders in the industry to eliminate conflict minerals, advancing an accountability approach to ensure respect for privacy, and addressing global health and education issues through social innovation.

Global citizenship governance

Strong global citizenship performance begins at the top and depends on leadership, participation, and support throughout an organization, especially for a company as diverse and complex as HP.

HP's Executive Council retains overall responsibility for global citizenship as part of our business strategy. Our Global Citizenship Council helps to ensure commitment and alignment to HP’s global citizenship objectives companywide. The council comprises executives and subject matter experts from across HP, and seeks input from across our business groups and functions, as well as from external stakeholders. The group meets at least quarterly, and as otherwise necessary, to strategically promote and advance global citizenship, through integrated risk and opportunity assessment, governance, and policy oversight.

HP also maintains separate councils dedicated to areas such as the environment, supply chain, ethics, and privacy and information management (see graphic). These councils include leaders with relevant expertise from our business units, regions, and functions. Each council meets periodically to evaluate our progress in implementing our strategies, and to establish performance goals.