HPE’s 2nd annual Human Rights Report: Three takeaways

HPE has released its second annual Human Right Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Here are three lessons we derived from our work this year: 

We need to move at the pace of innovation

The pace of innovation has never been more rapid.  Technological advancements hold the potential to improve lives and solve our most intractable challenges, but they also come with risks to humans that must be identified and mitigated.

With this in mind, HPE is committed to meeting the moment and to continuous improvement in our human rights program. In FY23, highlights included:

• Progress toward 100% supplier¹ compliance with three supply chain goals for no recruitment fees, worker training, and worker voice;
• Expansion of HPE’s risk assessment for mineral sourcing to include additional geographies;
• New partnerships and initiatives to advance the cause of ending modern slavery;
• Expanded human rights training for sales staff and sales partners to promote responsible use of our technology; and
• Work to advance opportunities for underrepresented groups in our supply chain and hiring practices.

We are more motivated than ever in the year ahead to raise the bar and form new partnerships that will lead to further improvement and evolution.

We can’t (and shouldn’t) do it alone

HPE strives to be a leader not only in human rights, but in partnerships -- with our peers, customers, partners, and others – is essential. Not only do these partnerships make HPE better; they allow HPE to share its experience and expertise to help others. 

For example, in FY23, HPE contributed to industry-wide efforts to promote ethical AI, with a particular focus on generative AI, through the World Economic Forum (WEF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations. Additionally, last year saw HPE enter new partnerships in the fight to stop modern slavery – an historical priority for the company given the nature and depth of our supply chain. Our Chief Operating and Legal Officer, John Schultz, newly joined the Board of Directors of The Anti-Slavery Collective (TASC) in FY23. Partnering with the TASC, former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, who heads the U.N. Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, we were successfully able to put modern slavery back on the agenda at the WEF’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos with three activations aimed at helping attendees understand the scope of the problem and the urgent need for action.

It’s about detection, remedy and continuous improvement

Even an organization with the best due diligence and risk management will have issues arise in their value chain. This is particularly the case in large, complex supply chains.

As a result, being willing and able to uncover these issues is of paramount importance.  Only then can remedy be provided to improve lives.  Empowering workers to raise their voices is therefore critical to our supply chain responsibility efforts, and we work with our suppliers to ensure that they are educating their workforce on their rights in the workplace, and to ensure that those suppliers have effective systems for workers to register their grievances and obtain redress.  When problems are found, HPE engages with the supplier in question to work collaboratively toward remediation.

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Our culture of respect for human rights is reflected and embedded within all aspects of our business. In providing a comprehensive view of our approach, we not only aim to facilitate transparency, but also to raise the bar for advancing human rights. 

¹ These supply chain goals apply to HPE’s major suppliers who fall within 98% spend.