SITUATION/PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:  
Hewlett-Packard (HP) as the provider of technological solutions encompassing an extensive information infrastructure searches for solutions minimizing negative impact on the environment of its actions without compromising the high quality of provided services.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION/SOLUTION:
In Poland HP runs Ecological Program whose purpose is to educate, support environment friendly attitudes, and to promote the pro-ecological policy of the company.
The program consists of several enterprises:

• A project of collecting and recycling cartridges for HP laser printers (for institutions and individual clients) and for ink printers (for institutions). Cartridges are then recycled in the process safe for the environment;
  
  
• HP initiated a countrywide ecological competition in Harmony with Nature which is addressed to non-governmental organisations. The idea of the competition is to unearth the most interesting ecological initiatives and enable realising them in forms of projects. The awards founded by HP are 30.000 zł (1st award), 15,000 zł (2nd award), 10,000 zł (3rd award);
  
  
• As part of promotion of pro-ecological attitudes among children and young people the company organised ecological competition for primary and junior-high and high schools. Schools are encouraged to propose practical projects concerning for instance collection and segregation of wastes, saving water and electrical energy etc. The rewards in the competition are sets of HP computer equipment and printers.
  
  
• The topic of environmental protection and pro-ecological attitudes are promoted in the media through another competition for journalists for the Reward of the Association of Polish Journalists. The best publications relating to environment protection are awarded Ecos prize created by Professor Stefan Myczkowski from the Club of Environmental Journalists. The competition is organized under the auspices of HP.

BENEFITS:

• Decreasing side effects of products and services;
• The company is more customer - and environment friendly;
• Finding new clients and building partner and transparent relationships with the interest holders.

CHALLENGES:

• At the stage of creating the program, the biggest challenge was defining problems and target groups to whom address the campaign;
• At the roll out stage, the spreading information to program beneficiaries posed particular difficulties due to the limited promotional budget.

WORTH REMEMBERING:

• Comprehensiveness and access to wide and most varied audiences of the program were very important in the preparation and realization stages of the project, as much as the size and possibilities of a given  company allowed.