Ericsson Sustainability report 2014 shows leadership in making positive change

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has published its 22nd Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report summarizing its performance during 2014 in the areas of: Responsible Business; Energy, Environment and Climate; and Communication for All. 

During 2014, Ericsson further strengthened the company’s approach to human rights and business, engaged in renewed focus on Occupational Health and Safety, and enhanced portfolio and operational efforts to reduce energy impact. Alongside this, Ericsson surpassed targets for providing access to communication for all in the areas of education, banking the unbanked, and humanitarian response, which positively impacted four million people around the world with its Technology for Good programs 

Rafiah Ibrahim, President, Ericsson, Region Middle East and East Africa said: “We believe that, being the leaders in the ICT industry, we have a responsibility to use our innovation to improve people’s lives.  Our innovation is transforming   the way in which people live, communicate and collaborate.. The Networked Society will lead the way for an environmentally sustainable and impartial development of our economies and society as a whole, and today we are at the forefront of this change.”

Ericsson is the first ICT Company – and one of just five across all industries – to report according to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights Reporting Framework, which was established earlier this year, demonstrating the company’s commitment to transparently managing human rights risks throughout its operations. 

Ericsson’s emphasis on conducting business responsibly takes a full value chain perspective. It begins with supply chain and extends through the company’s own operations, including Occupational Health and Safety where a “Zero Incidents” program was established to tackle and reduce the number of severe incidents in the supply chain.

Joe Y. Battikh, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson Region Middle East and East Africa, said: “We take a triple bottom line approach in order to drive positive change within our organization as well as all aspects of the Networked Society, regardless of the region.” 

In energy and environment, Ericsson reports improvements in its own activities and products in operation. Ericsson, a company with more than 110,000 employees, is on track to reduce CO2e emissions by 30 percent per employee by 2017. The full-year reduction for 2014 was 10 percent per employee.

As Ericsson’s most significant environmental impact is the energy used by its products in operation, the company puts emphasis on helping customers optimize their networks. The new Ericsson Radio System enables a 50 percent improvement in energy efficiency, which will mitigate the increasing energy consumption required to meet growing demands for data.

As of March 31, 2015 the total female workforce across Ericsson, Region Middle East and East Africa is 13 percent. In an effort to encourage women into the ICT sector Ericsson joined forces with TechWomen, which empowers and connects next-generation female leaders from Africa and the Middle East in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing access and opportunities for career advancement, last year.
In addition, our Connect to Learn program has a focus on empowering girls. The project in Myanmar is Ericsson’s first public-private partnership with a government and  the deployments will benefit 11,000 students over the next two years. Connect To Learn is now active in 21 countries around the world.

Ericsson Response, a global employee volunteer initiative provides communication expertise and equipment to support aid workers and NGOs in disaster relief and humanitarian efforts on the ground. In 2014 there were 30,000 refugees in Arbat and 90,000 in Deniz, which were provided connectivity, in addition to more than 200,000 humanitarians.  

Ericsson and the International Rescue Committee entered a partnership aimed at connecting and providing support for those impacted by health crises, natural disasters and conflict-driven humanitarian crises. Initial deployments during 2014 focused on the Ebola response in Liberia and Sierra Leone.