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Aruba’s commitment to sustainability

By Phil Mottram, Executive Vice President & General Manager, HPE Aruba Networking

As a father of two children, I’m keenly aware of how their generation views sustainability. To them, it is so much more than what the latest political squabbling is about or debating how we’ve gotten to this climate tipping point. They confidently question how we can all do our part—specifically, how the Mottram household can transition to a carbon-neutral and zero-waste home. How companies can (and should) make a difference, as well.

It turns out that sustainability and doing our part is not just a hot topic for the younger generation. The Global Sustainability Study 2021, a global study of more than 10,000 people across 17 countries, conducted by global strategy and pricing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, showed that sustainability is becoming increasingly important in consumers’ purchasing decisions. Individuals see themselves, along with for profit companies, as the primary catalysts for change.

At Aruba, we know that the pace of innovation in IT has great potential for solving the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. We are privileged to be part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a leading IT company whose mission is to be a Force for Good; a company that is leading the charge for environmental change across industries as diverse as manufacturing, energy production, farming, and healthcare. But where exactly are we seeing action taken and how can we partner with our customers to make a difference? Here are some ways we are tackling sustainability head-on.

Sustainability as a standard business practice

Aruba has adopted an environmental strategy that helps guide business decisions to ensure we maintain resilient operations while minimizing our impact on the planet. We approach efficient IT using the following framework:

  • Energy efficiency—delivering an optimum level of power, storage, and connectivity with the lowest input of energy possible, spearheaded by our Design for the Environment (DfE) program (e.g., Wi-Fi 6 designs with intelligent DC power management features).
  • Equipment efficiency—maximizing IT processing power and storage capabilities with fewer IT assets.
  • Resource efficiency—engineering products to work efficiently within data centers and at the edge while requiring the least amount of support equipment and staff for power conversion, cooling, and resiliency.

Our goal is to minimize environmental impacts across the product lifecycle and reduces total cost of ownership for our customers.

Asset recycling services

Customers choosing Aruba have the option to safely retire IT equipment in a flexible and secure manner through HPE’s Asset Upcycling Services (AUS). This program applies to both HPE/Aruba and third-party products. Aruba offers the HPE Product Return and Recycling program, which includes:

  • Recycling
  • Certificate of Recycling
  • Drop-off locations at HPE-authorized recycling facilities or collection at customer facility for consignments of IT hardware weighing at least one ton
  • Transportation to an HPE-authorized sorting and waste facility

Reduce complexity of retiring assets

Once an organization decides that certain IT assets have reached the end-of-life, they face several decisions based on their environmental goals and requirements. With HPEFS, we address the challenges of increasing security concerns, business processes, and an extensive list of regulations that govern IT removal and retirement. HPEFS simplifies this process for our customers on a global scale. When you select Aruba, you also get a partner that has expertise gained from years of processing millions of assets per year. Plus, working with a single, centralized asset remarketing partner means it’s easier for your staff to continue focusing on their day-to-day work.

Sustainability goals are driving NaaS adoption

One area we are seeing great interest in sustainability is around our network-as-a-service (NaaS) offerings, called HPE GreenLake for Networking. This makes sense if you consider that according to a recent IDC global survey, 82% of organizations recognize the importance of IT asset disposition (ITAD) services in their sustainability goals. Secure asset decommissioning reduces the risk of financial penalties and data breaches and helps meet sustainability goals. Enterprises need help achieving their ITAD and sustainability goals to avoid regulatory and financial penalties. Beyond penalty concerns, disposal efforts are also a burden for their IT staff because of the inherent security risks and time involved. Deploying a NaaS offering can reduce these issues, so it is not surprising that we are seeing tremendous customer interest in NaaS.

The initiatives described above, are a start but not the answer. We can, and will as an organization do more because it’s the right thing to do and we all know that. In the coming months, we will establish some teams across our organization to look at all the areas where we can help, so please, start thinking about additional ideas to help.

Our commitment to sustainability is increasingly important to our future as we work to shape our customers’ businesses and generate value for our shareholders. I’m proud to be part of HPE Aruba, whose mission is to be a Force for Good. Together we can reshape business practices and our planet.

Additional resources

Sustainability at Aruba – innovating today for a better tomorrow

Aruba sustainability through HPEFS

What is NaaS?

Video: NaaS Explained