HPE tackles climate change and modern slavery at Climate Week NYC

Throughout history, innovation has changed the world for the better. Events like New York City Climate Week help to spur the kind of collaboration across business, government, and the non-profit sectors that is crucial to the advancement of world-changing innovation and progress against challenging societal issues. This year, HPE was proud to showcase the work we are doing to nurture the ecosystems necessary to accelerate innovation and action on two intractable and interrelated problems: climate change and modern slavery.

While climate change is a nearly universally understood concept, regarded by most as an existential threat to humanity, modern slavery is less visible by its very nature, with roughly 50 million victims around the world hiding in plain sight. And, the two problems are linked. As the world races to decarbonize, we need to ensure ethical and responsible supply chains are in place to produce the materials critical to scale low-carbon technologies. Electrification, for example, is increasing the demand for rare minerals, the sources of which are notoriously susceptible to forced labor. Additionally, as the planet warms, experts expect a surge of climate-related population displacement, as underprivileged and impoverished parts of the world are most likely to become uninhabitable, forcing migration of vulnerable populations ripe for exploitation. 

Why an ecosystem approach?

It would be naïve for any entity to think that climate change and modern slavery are problems to be tackled by individual action alone. Moving the needle requires collective awareness and cooperation, with more mature enterprises lending their support and expertise to others. HPE is helping to cultivate the innovation ecosystems necessary to fight climate change and end modern slavery by ensuring that innovations are not left on the table due to lack of access to resources or visibility.

We’re supporting these ecosystems through a series of social impact accelerators – mentorship programs which help startups focusing on climate technology and human rights further develop their ideas to the point where they can attract investment and scale. This year, at New York City Climate Week, we’re showcasing this work alongside our partners in business, academia, and government, to illustrate what is possible when we work together to tackle intractable challenges.

HPE, DoE, and LabStart Work to Accelerate Climate Tech

On September 25, we are hosting an event featuring HPE’s Dr. John Frey, Chief Technologist, Sustainable Transformation, Megan Holcomb, COO of LabStart, and Dr. Vanessa Chan, Chief Commercialization Officer for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). These cross-sector experts will share insights on the need to catalyze innovation to fight climate change.

The panel discussion will talk about the successes of LabStart’s accelerator program that is helping its first cohort of diverse entrepreneurs launch breakthrough climate startups and will delve into how it is a model for creating and sustaining successful public-private partnerships. The panelists will discuss why using an ecosystem approach works, and the importance of supporting diverse founders by providing better access to DoE National Labs resources. Attendees will also be able to meet with LabStart fellows, who are working to build startups around technologies licensed from national labs and universities that can help in the climate fight.

Building a Movement to Stop Modern Slavery

Our Chief Operating and Legal Officer, John Schultz, has gotten HPE deeply involved in the fight to end modern slavery, inspired by his work as an attorney to expand access to justice to underserved communities. During Climate Week, John will participate in several forums – including this public session hosted by the World Economic Forum-  to talk about the need to establish a net-zero framework for modern slavery and forced labor, much as we’ve done for the climate movement.

We’ll also be joining MIT Solve to announce the winners of the Supporting Survivors of Modern Slavery challenge – part of our Human Rights Impact Accelerator. The challenge, supported by the HPE Foundation and The Anti-Slavery Collective, provides direct financial support to founders who are applying technology-based solutions to help survivors of modern slavery reclaim their lives.

Unfortunately, just as estimated figures on vulnerability to exploitation have dramatically increased, there has been a loss of international corporate momentum behind efforts to address it. In spite of the devastating reality of modern slavery, the issue has slipped down the global agenda, displaced by events such as the pandemic, geopolitical conflict and climate-related extreme weather events, which themselves contribute further to increased vulnerability to modern slavery.

With more victims comes more survivors who will need support. We cannot afford to look away, but must confront modern slavery as an urgent global concern. Like LabStart’s work to accelerate climate tech, this program shows the value that ecosystems bring not only to harnessing the power of established players, but of nascent innovation that needs support from those established players to unlock their value and scale for impact.

HPE has long been a leader in enabling the ethical and responsible advancement of the ICT industry – from being a founding member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to shaping and promoting global standards, and implementing cutting-edge approaches and setting ambitious goals to advance the practices of our own direct suppliers. The work on display this year at Climate Week is an extension of our long history of driving collective effort for change, and the belief that technology can have a material benefit to the lives of the most vulnerable.