HP injects US$2m to help WWF curb climate change

By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia | 07 June 2007 2332 hrs

SINGAPORE : The World Wildlife Fund says besides governments, large corporations can play an important role in curbing climate change.

And one example is its partnership with global IT company Hewlett-Packard.

The company is contributing over US$2 million in cash and technology to the WWF's Climate Watch programme, specifically for initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.

Heavy industrialisation has given Planet Earth a fever and nations across the globe are feeling the heat.

When the ice comes down, the sea level goes up, flooding farmlands.

Singapore and its Asian neighbours are not spared the impacts of global warming as its people bore the brunt of flash floods and unseasonal storms.

It is a message that moved some global corporations like HP to take action.

The company has allocated more than US$2 million to set up three projects across the world, aimed at curbing climate change.

In North America, it is setting up an epicentre for climate conservation.

In Europe, HP's initiative is aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, by using information and communication technology.

But the bulk of the budget goes to India and China - 70 percent of the money allocated will be used to fund what is called a "Climate Witness" project.

It is an on-line forum aimed at recording and collating the tangible consequences of climate changes on individuals.

The aim is to get local communities to implement policy changes on climate change.

Nadeem Shafi, Climate Programme Development - Asia Pacific, WWF, said: "What the donation by HP does is it provides a useful start to that programme and... these specific projects in different parts of China and India are actually focused on key strategies, which may be able to be replicated elsewhere. So these are almost like petri dishes where we can learn by example and then potentially roll those two programmes out further beyond those two countries."

When it comes to curbing climate change, certainly a lot more can be done.

And the latest initiative by HP is just one example of how big businesses can advance the green cause, and limit the impact of climate change on the planet.

Rita Sully, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager - Asia Pacific and Japan, HP Asia Pacific, said: "In terms of carbon reduction, or reduction of footprint, HP is very involved in looking at our own facilities, and we'll be working with WWF on our own facilities and look at reducing our own carbon emissions.

"So we've made our commitment of course to reduce our own carbon emissions by 2010. So we'll be working towards that... we're also helping our customers to look at how they can reduce their carbon footprint as well."

So apart from companies, conserving energy is very much about choosing energy efficient measures and habits at the individual level.

Besides the Climate Watch programme, the WWF also runs a Climate Saver programme, where it gets large manufacturers like Sony and IBM to commit to cutting carbon gas emissions that cause global warming. - CNA/ch