The red carpet turns green...

Hewlett Packard has been an official partner for the world’s leading film festival for several years now. It’s an opportunity for the brand to reach a valuable audience of filmmakers, and invite their customers along to soak up the atmosphere.

For Cannes 2023, the aim was to put sustainability at the heart of HP’s presence. Ensuring every guest understood just how much the brand is doing to be a leader in the field. Of course, to embody this idea, the HP brand experience itself would also have to be as sustainable as possible.

Our work was a story in two acts...

Act One: Going Beyond

HP's Cannes lounge featured hospitality and a photo studio, building excitement before our VIP guests headed out onto the red carpet for a festival premiere. But the heart of the lounge was a mixed media gallery that brought to life five of the brand’s sustainability commitments:

A green living wall symbolised HP’s support for the WWF Forest Positive initiative and commitment to reducing print waste. HP offers ink on demand, and paper from sustainably managed forests, so people never buy more than they need.

Photography of the Antarctic accompanied a video about explorer Justin Packshaw’s trip to study the West Antarctic ice sheet – a bellwether of sea level rise. Sponsored by HP, he used their hardy Dragonfly laptop to document the experience.

Artist Steve McPherson’s striking sculpture used plastic waste to represent the fact that, since 2017, HP has launched more than 300 new products containing ocean-bound plastic.

Video infographics and human stories showcased what HP is doing to accelerate digital equity, with a commitment to transform the lives of 150 million people in 200 countries by 2030 and put technology in the hands of those who need it.

Our materials story used real samples of all the different recycled components that go into the casing of just one HP device.

Everything was united under HP’s ‘Go Beyond’ branding and every exhibit related to a specific HP product, showing that the brand’s sustainability commitment is realised in their range. Even guests who were sceptical of the initiatives upon entry, left convinced that HP’s commitment is real.

Act Two: Bringing it Home

Given the urgency and importance of HP’s subject matter, it was vital we walked the walk at Cannes, rather than just talking the talk. Ivory holds Advanced Certification for ISO 20121:2012 Sustainable Events, which underscores our commitment to low-impact events and activations.

From the planning stage onwards, we worked with HP and our partners to ensure sustainability was right at the heart of creative and production.

Everything we used to create HP’s Cannes presence was reusable or recyclable. Nothing ended up in landfill. Local partners helped us help the surrounding community, with wall coverings sent to a local charity to be made into bags, and the carpet donated to nearby social housing.

The whole project was tracked using our BOSS sustainability management system, which covers everything from materials to transport to waste.

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