HP Launches Eco Highlights Labels

June 2, 2008

Computer printer giant, HP, has launched a new program to provide 'Eco Highlights' labels on a select group of their printers.

The new labels will contain information on the key environmental attributes of the products, and of course allows to the company to mention their impressive environmental goals again.

The labels contain three main parts. The first shows the info specific to that product, including energy use and consumption. The second part shows if the product is Energy Star qualified. The last section emphasizes the importance of properly recycling the product at the end of its life.

While the labels are small and don’t contain huge amounts of information it is still a huge step to help us all reduce our carbon footprint. This is the first example of a big tech company being so transparent and forthcoming with the environmental information of their products, helping consumers make the most informed choice and allowing the to cut their carbon footprint.

As well, unlike many other companies, HP is taking into account the entire supply chain when it calculates the energy info so that the consumer can make their decision based on complete information.

HP is currently only including the labels on three product families, but hopes to roll it out further by the fall of this year.

This is hopefully the first step towards a retail environment where consumers can choose what to buy based on the full information of how much energy the product uses and what its impact will be on their carbon footprint. But until others follow suit, we hope it gives HP a big advantage over their competition.

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