HP Calls on Partners to Embrace Its Sustainable Impact Initiative

HP has made its Sustainable Impact initiative, diversity and inclusion among its highest corporate priorities in recent years. Now the company plans to enable its HP Amplify partners to do the same.

The largest provider of PCs and printers began rolling out the new HP Amplify Impact program Thursday in 25 countries. HP will expand the program worldwide throughout 2021 to train and support those partners seeking to commit to sustainability impact.

Announced last summer and launched in November, HP Amplify is the company’s new data-driven, customer experience-focused partner program. The company decided to wait until that program was rolled out before adding the sustainability portion.

HP officials said committing to sustainability has already paid off. Its Sustainable Impact efforts generated $1 billion in new sales, according to the company’s most recent Sustainable Impact Report.

“That’s a testament to the high performance, purpose-driven culture that unites the HP ecosystem and our global partner community,” HP chief commercial officer Christoph Schell said during a media briefing this week.

Schell noted other reasons why it makes business sense to commit to sustainability, diversity and inclusion.

“More than 60% of millennials desire employers who contribute to social or ethical causes,” he said. “And more investors choose to tilt their investment toward sustainably-focused companies. That tectonic shift we are seeing will accelerate even further. There is no company whose business model won’t be profoundly affected by the transition to a more circular, diverse and inclusive economy.”

HP chief sustainability and social impact officer Ellen Jackowski added that the billion in new sales reflects the importance customers place on sustainability.

HP’s Ellen Jackowski

“Creating sustainable impact isn’t just the right thing to do,” Jackowski said. “It’s also an increasing driver of purchasing decisions.”

3 Pillars: Planet, People and Community

The program addresses three core areas:

“HP Life supports individuals around the world who want to start and run their enterprises,” she said. “It’s used by students, the unemployed, micro and small business owners, mid-career changers, all sorts of different people, including lifelong learners.”

Breaking Down the Partner Plan

HP’s investments also include providing incentives to employees based on their role in creating sustainable impact. The launch of HP Amplify Impact is an extension of …

… that investment to partners, according to the company.

Mary Beth Walker is head of HP’s head of global channel strategy. She said a survey of customers found that 61% believe sustainability is mandatory for their business.

“And they’re spending their money accordingly,” Walker said.

HP’s Mary Beth Walker

“When we looked at how can we expand our sustainability reach and leverage both our investments and our success, we decided that creating a program that would allow us to help our partners with their initiatives seemed like a perfect opportunity for us,” she added. “Through HP Amplify Impact, partners can benefit from an improved ability to help customers understand how their technology choices can improve business outcomes, as well as have access to a myriad of resources to use to strengthen and increase their sustainability efforts within their company.”

Walker said that HP will provide all partners with training, sales tools and access to resources. Among those resources are the company’s Sustainability and Compliance Center, HP Life and its Planet Partners program. HP will work closely with partners in 25 countries, she added, and expand it globally by year’s end.

Resources for Partners

Access to the resources will become available to all partners in the HP Impact partner program.

Additionally, HP rolled out two tracks, Catalyst and ChangeMaker. Partners participating in the Catalyst track start out by signing a pledge agreeing to join the Sustainable Impact community. Partners then take an assessment survey to evaluate how their current sustainability efforts map with their peers.

“The results of the assessment is a personalized report for each partner that helps guide them in the direction that best suits the needs of their business and their ambitions,” Walker said.

Once complete, they get a report with recommendations based on their responses and an introduction to the program’s guidelines. Partners that register opportunities in HP’s CRM system track their sustainability impact.

The Changemaker program is for partners who don’t have a sustainability plan but want to make a long-term commitment.

“We will help them understand how to get the support of their executives, of their board of directors, how to train all of the people in their company, so that they understand the fundamentals of sustainability,” Walker said.

The training will also show partners “where to look at specific initiatives that are special for them in what their goals are and be able to put them in a plan that they can actually start with.”