HP Canada excels by prioritizing environmental good

Marie Novakis has been with HP Canada for almost nine years as managed print services channel manager. She joined the technology company in 2016 and has 36 years of experience in the print industry.

“The one and only thing that could convince me to move to the third company I’ve worked for in my entire career was based on culture,” says Novakis. “Their corporate culture is really that important to me. It’s the people, the culture, the experience they provide over and beyond that makes me the happiest here.”

Mississauga, Ont.-based HP Canada is a channel-led organization, meaning it doesn’t primarily sell directly to customers but through channel partners. These partners sell HP products, services and solutions to the end-user, the customer.

“We’re committed to exploring and working to further educate employees at the partner level so that together we can increase our footprint from a sustainability perspective,” Novakis says.

The company’s award-winning HP Amplify Impact Program recognizes that conducting business as usual is not sustainable.

“At HP, we look at sustainability under three pillars — the planet, people and community,” says Novakis. “Under planet, most people are familiar with our Planet Partners recycling program that recycles toner cartridges responsibly. Now we can recycle hardware too, such as floor-standing printers and desktop printers, so these products aren’t ending up in landfills.

“When I think about people, it’s really about advancing human rights,” she says. “If you look at our leadership teams around the world, we have a goal to achieve 50 per cent gender equality by 2030 which is great. Then I think about community, and this is really about breaking down the digital divide. We’re in a position to provide technology to those who don’t have access to it.”

Frances Edmonds, head of sustainable impact, says sustainability has always been essential to HP.

“One of the main reasons for that is we see very clearly that 60 per cent of our revenue is coming from sustainable goods or services,” she says. “So, what that shows you is that you can do well by doing good and we have the data to prove it. We challenge all businesses to step up and do more on sustainability.”

Engaging employees with sustainability can prove beneficial financially too.

“We can measure this to some extent, that engaged employees are more profitable employees,” says Edmonds. “We are a purpose-driven company and we’ve been doing sustainability for 80 years. We hire people who want to make a difference, so it helps when you attract and retain top talent. When you focus on sustainability, you’re actually working it, not just talking about it.”

HP offers employees four hours of paid time a month to volunteer. The global goal is to contribute 3.5 million employee volunteer hours by the end of 2030.

“The other benefit of our volunteer program is that it’s very flexible,” Edmonds says. “There’s a wide definition of what counts as volunteering. That said, we do a couple of things to make that volunteering more impactful. We have a highly educated, skilled workforce so we want them to give their skills and that is more valuable to society.”

Novakis appreciates her own volunteer hours. “It’s really exciting to me because I’ve volunteered with an organization called Chapter One, which is an early literacy charity. It provides students in Grade 1 who are below the reading level the opportunity to have a tutor like me, to build their level of confidence,” she says.

“It’s very enriching for me.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Greenest Employers winners, published April 22, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.