In collaboration with Studio Barnes, Conservation International, Staples, and MIT Solve, Create What’s Next inspires attendees to recycle, showing how one small act can have a big impact
Climate change is the defining challenge of a lifetime, weighing on our collective conscience. The magnitude of the issue can feel overwhelming, leaving us wondering if our individual choices truly make a difference. Yet, it is precisely in these small actions that our collective power lies.
In recognition of World Environment Day, HP’s intention is to inspire action through art. HP and artist Germane Barnes will emphasize the importance of recycling through the “Create What’s Next” exhibit – a hands-on, unique, and visual experience. The hybrid art exhibit is free and open to the public on Friday, June 2, 10 am – 5 pm ET, at Studio 525 in New York City.
The exhibit takes attendees on an experiential journey through HP’s ink cartridge recycling process, established over 30 years ago as HP Planet Partners. The exhibit displays reduce, reuse and recycle methods as seen by design visionary Germane Barnes – who uses materials from each phase of the process to create an interactive and visually arresting experience that showcases how individual actions observed as a collective can have a profound impact.
Create What’s Next
Global companies like HP have a critical role in helping solve the issues facing our communities around the world. Of the many global challenges requiring solutions, HP believes that climate change is among the most imperative. To truly commit to climate action, organizations must go beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain and discover new ways to innovate for a more sustainable future.
“At HP, we understand the importance of the materials we use and where they come from – which is why we design products that use less and give more. But we recognize there is always more work to be done,” said Mariama Kabia, Social Impact Lead at HP. “Achieving a circular economy requires more partnerships, collaborations – including the next generation of youth – and knowledge sharing across organizations. We aim to educate and inspire those around us to recycle with this exhibit.”
Create What’s Next is anchored in a series of phases that represent Germane’s creative take on HP’s recycling process — using real materials from each step. All the materials used in the exhibit have been incorporated with sustainability in mind and will be repurposed, reused or recycled. This includes all the plastic from the ink cartridges, which will be reintroduced into HP’s closed-loop cartridge recycling process through HP Planet Partners, demonstrating the material’s end-to-end circularity journey.
“When HP first approached me with this creative idea, I saw it as a challenge given the scale of the ink cartridge recycling process, and all the work that goes into responsibly accounting for the materials that go into making them,” said Barnes. "But this was an opportunity to show people through art and design the various steps in the process, with a hope they’ll begin to understand how they can be part of the journey and make a difference even if it is a small one.”
