Vision and strategy

ABB’s vision
Commitment to sustainability is key to ABB’s value creation. Sustainability is about securing our common future.

For a global company like ABB, it involves working in three dimensions: environmental, economic and social. The right balance of the three will ensure ABB’s prosperity and improve the quality of life of the communities in which we operate.

We have come a long way.

Our products are among the most eco-efficient available. This is documented in our Environmental Product Declarations, which help customers make informed, sustainable choices.

Almost all our manufacturing sites have implemented ISO 14001, which is proof of their good environmental practices.

Within ABB, we have good awareness of our sustainability objectives, strategies and roles. Documents like our “Mission and Values” aim to inspire every ABB employee to live and communicate our commitment to sustainability.

So where do we go now?

Exploring new viewpoints
We are integrating sustainability more closely into all our operations and decision-making processes.

Together with our customers in industries and utilities, we are starting to look up and down the supply chain, tracing the links all the way from primary production through to consumption.

Exploring different viewpoints will help us discover new routes to sustainability.

To this end, we will work more with external partners and bring combined resources to bear on complex problems. The recently completed China Energy Technology Program is an example of this type of collaboration (see page 39).

We are also looking at transportation. With activities in 100 countries, ABB is constantly shifting goods and people around the world. Can we reduce the environmental impact by improving our logistics and making better use of telecommunications?



ABB’s strategy
In the short to medium term, this is our strategy for sustainability:

• To ensure that all operating units implement environmental management systems and continuously improve their environmental performance; and to encourage them to set an example by going beyond mere compliance with local environmental standards and laws
• To continuously improve the eco-efficiency of all our products, systems and services, and publish this information in environmental product declarations
• To share the most advanced and eco-efficient technologies with developing countries
• To apply our social policy, including occupational health and safety policies, throughout the Group, and develop procedures and indicators to improve social performance continuously
• To favor and encourage suppliers who have environmental and social policies similar to our own
• To apply resources to common efforts that foster economic, environmental, social and educational development
• To analyze and reduce the environmental impact of our transportation of goods and people
• To use ABB’s communications resources to raise awareness of sustainability matters, particularly among our own employees

Towards a new consensus
Strategies and policies can take us some of the way. But to make real progress, we need to implement our policies and help shape the environment in which we are active.

In short, it is not enough for ABB alone to place a premium on sustainability. Our customers, our suppliers, in fact, all our stakeholders must agree on the value of sustainability.

More, we must constantly strive to transform sustainability into customer values.

This is the true challenge before us. Gradually, subtly, every company, government, stakeholder and individual must come to agree that sustainable policies are the only acceptable policies.

Sustainability is everyone’s business.