(San Jose, CA) - A novel shareholder resolution sponsored by Calvert Asset Management Company will be presented and voted on at Hewlett-Packard's Annual General Meeting tomorrow, Friday April 26. The resolution calls on H-P to conduct a feasibility study on improving computer take-back and recycling programs. Support for the resolution was announced today by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the GrassRoots Recycling Network, the Computer TakeBack Campaign and other activist groups throughout the U.S.

"This resolution is an important initiative," said Ted Smith, Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. "The environmental records of HP and Compaq are very different. HP has shown clear leadership. When HP merges with Compaq we are concerned that the high performance environmental bar set by HP will be lowered, unless share holders vote affirmatively on this resolution."

The resolution, which has won support from the Social Investment Research Service, a proxy advisory service for socially concerned investors, and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), asks the company to produce a report that includes: * goals to reduce the use of hazardous materials in manufacturing, collection, detoxification, disassembly, and recycling of discarded equipment; * evaluation of the H-P's recycling process and its effect on workers; * H-P's liability if its products are found to have contaminated the ground water and thereby causing people health problems; and * impact on H-P's reputation if the company does not adopt a comprehensive recycling policy for its products.

The SIRS analysis states "This proposal raises an important environmental issue that needs to be addressed by the company since it will affect the company from both an economic and reputational perspective. Companies who fail to address the risks related to electronic waste may jeopardize their global corporate image."

"We have been tracking the electronics industry for more than 20 years," said Smith. "Many of the wonderful gadgets have become rapidly growing piles of electronic waste (e-waste), sitting in peoples garages, basements, and attics."

"E-waste (electronic waste) is the fastest growing and one of the most toxic waste streams in the world, and the response has been minimal, said David Wood, Organizing Director, GrassRoots Recycling Network. "As revealed in the report "Exporting Harm" we may be seeing only the tip of the iceberg. The report revealed that e-waste generated in the U.S. is currently being shipped to Asia creating environmental and human health problems. Producers of electronic equipment like Hewlett-Packard have the resources and the responsibility to address this problem."

More than 700 substances--including many toxic materials-- are used to produce a single workstation. Some of these materials include toxic gases, plastics, brominated flame retardants and metals.

Through the Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive, the European Union has been enacting legislation that would require manufacturers to take back products and phase out hazardous substances. The rules in Europe will apply to all manufacturers, even Hewlett-Packard. "If they can do it in Europe when they are regulated, they should find ways of exhibiting the same environmental performance in the United States," said Smith. Similar rules have been promulgated in Japan.

"Europe and Japan are actively addressing the e-waste problem. We don't have takeback regulations on the national level," said Smith. "Cities and states are recognizing that responsibility for e-waste is a problem being left at their doorsteps. That is why California and Massachusetts have banned computer monitors from landfills and more than 20 states have initiated some type of e-waste legislation."

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