Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is giving itself 10 fewer years to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain, the company announced in conjunction with its 2021 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report.

HPE now plans to be a zero-carbon company by 2040 — a decade sooner than its previous target date of 2050. This means HPE has committed to not release any emissions as a result of any activities related to the company's existence, a goal that encompasses scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions.

"We don’t just help our customers meet their ESG goals, we continue to push ourselves and our entire industry forward by improving upon our own," HPE President and CEO Antonio Neri said in a statement. "At HPE, we have a significant responsibility and an intentional, focused plan to help our customers, suppliers, and communities successfully transition to a zero-carbon future."

In tandem with the acceleration of its net-zero goal, the vendor announced a variety of interim targets approved by the Science-based Target Initiative and in line with a 1.5-degree C warming scenario.

HPE says it has already reduced its operational emissions by 62% in the last five years, and now by 2030 plans to reduce its operational emissions an additional 70% from 2020 level.

By 2030 the vendor also plans to reduce its scope 3 emissions by 42% through a focus on emissions resulting from the use of its sold products, upstream distribution and transportation, and its supply chain activities.

In a preemptive effort to keep itself on track, HPE also announced two new executive-level initiatives to give business leaders a personal stake in their company's environmental impact.

This year, every HPE employee at the VP level and above will be required to complete a climate training program the company says will empower its leaders to create action plans within their specific area of the organization to mitigate HPE's overall climate impact.

HPE is also introducing a new compensation metric for its executive committee to tie part of committee members' variable pay to HPE's level of carbon emissions throughout the value chain.

This provides a new level of motivation to make progress, especially for executives who may not have a pre-existing moral obligation to act on climate change.