Policies and organization

ABB’s sustainability policies

Sustainable development is integral to all aspects of our business. We strive to balance economic, environmental and social priorities to create value for all our stakeholders. Our goal is to continuously improve our own social and environmental performance, and to take initiatives that improve quality of life in the communities and countries where we operate.

We create value for society by:

• Taking part in initiatives that foster economic, environmental, social and educational development
• Offering our customers eco-efficient products that reduce environmental impact over their complete lifecycles
• Sharing our latest technologies with developing countries
• Ensuring that all our operations and processes comply with applicable environmental standards and legislation. Specifically, every operating unit must implement an Environmental Management System that continuously improves its environmental performance
• Choosing suppliers who have sustainability policies and systems similar to our own

ABB’s commitment to sustainability is further elaborated in the group’s environmental and social policies, which apply to all employees.

A special global network to support ABB’s strict business ethics compliance program
ABB aims to achieve the highest international standards of ethical behavior and integrity.

Business ethics belong to ABB’s core set of values and guiding principles. Our policy on business ethics is incorporated in our Mission and Values statement published in 23 languages and on our Group Web site. It is also incorporated in ABB’s Business Ethics Standards, publicly available in ten major languages and in ABB’s new social policy.

Global support network
ABB’s board of directors and executive committee have designated the Group Function – Legal and Compliance to implement and oversee business ethics within ABB and to manage a global network
to ensure compliance. Compliance officers have been appointed at Group headquarters, area counselors have been located in the U.S. and Australia, and local counselors in 63 countries advise and monitor local organizations. In addition, ethical coordinators have been established in all of ABB’s business divisions to identify critical issues and develop programs to address them.

This global network distributes information and guidance, fosters internal dialogue, and supports ethical education and training. In the last few years, training programs covering approximately 50 percent of ABB employees have been held in countries where ABB has major activities.

An additional section relating to lenders and export credit agencies has been added to ABB’s business ethics policy, and specially trained compliance officers are responsible for certifying all necessary disclosures in this area.

Access for employees
ABB employees have access via the Group’s global intranet to a full scope of information, guidelines, documents, forms and useful agreements covering all aspects of ABB’s business ethics compliance program. A 24-hour response helpdesk and details of the compliance counselor network for consultation or questions are also provided.

External liaisons
ABB is a group contributor and donor to Transparency International, the coalition against corruption. The ABB Group also liaises with the Basel Institute on Governance, and for several years ABB in Germany cooperated with the Center for Business Ethics in Konstanz, Germany.