ABB’s sustainability policies

ABB’s environmental policy

ABB is committed to developing resource-efficient products and systems and to conducting ongoing dialogue with customers to help them select the most environmentally friendly products, systems and solutions.

The environmental policy focuses on the management of environmental issues in nine key areas throughout the life cycle of ABB products – from suppliers and contractors, through the customers’ use of our products, to their eventual disposal and recycling at the end of their useful life.

The commitment:

1. To conduct our operations in an environmentally sound manner by applying environmental management systems, such as ISO 14001, in all our operations and by applying environmental principles, such as commitment to continual improvement, legal compliance and awareness training of employees, in all our operations worldwide.

2. To promote environmental responsibility along the value chain by encouraging suppliers, subcontractors and customers to adopt international environmental standards.

3. To develop our manufacturing processes with a focus on energy and resource efficiency.

4. To conduct regular audits of our facilities’ environmental performance, including facilities involved in acquisitions, divestments and mergers.

5. To transfer eco-efficient technologies to developing countries.

6. To develop and market products and systems which are resource efficient and facilitate use of renewable energy sources.

7. To declare the environmental performance of our core products by publishing environmental product declarations based on life cycle assessment.

8. To include environmental aspects in the risk assessment of major customer projects.

9. To ensure transparency by producing an annual Sustainability review, based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) requirements, which is independently verified.

ABB’s social policy

As well as seeking to contribute economically and environmentally, ABB recognizes social performance as a key to sustainable development.

ABB’s social policy is applicable to areas that ABB can directly influence. It draws on five sources: the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s fundamental principles on rights at work, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the Global Sullivan Principles, and the Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) standard, an auditable standard for the protection of workers’ rights.

We engage in stakeholder review and consultations on this policy to ensure it is continuously improved. Our policy aims:

1. ABB in society:
To contribute within the scope of our capabilities to improving economic, environmental and social conditions through open dialogue with stakeholders and through active participation in common efforts.

2. Human rights:
To support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

To ensure that employees and contractors engaged as security personnel observe international human rights norms in their work.

3. Children and young workers:
To ensure that minors are properly protected; and as a fundamental principle, not to employ children or support the use of child labor, except as part of government-approved youth training schemes (such as work-experience programs).

4. Freedom of engagement:
To require that all employees enter into employment with the company of their own free will; and not to apply any coercion when engaging employees or support any form of forced or compulsory labor.

5. Health and safety:
To provide a safe and healthy working environment at all sites and facilities and to take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury to health arising from the course of work by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.

6. Employee consultation and communication:
To facilitate regular consultation with all employees to address areas of concern.

To respect the right of all personnel to form and join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively.

To ensure that employee representatives are not the subject of discrimination and that such representatives have access to their members in the workplace.

To ensure, in case of major layoffs, that a social benefits and guidance plan is in place, and already known to employees or their official representatives.

7. Equality of opportunity:
To offer equal opportunity to all employees and not to engage in or support discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on ethnic or national origin, caste, religion, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, union membership, or political affiliation.

8. Harassment and disciplinary practices:
To oppose the use of mental or physical coercion, verbal abuse or corporal/hard-labor punishment; and not to allow behavior, including gestures, language and physical contact, that is sexual, coercive, threatening, abusive or exploitative.

To develop and maintain equitable procedures to deal with employee grievances and disciplinary practices.

9. Working hours:
To comply with applicable laws and industry standards on working hours, including overtime.

10. Compensation:
To ensure that wages paid meet or exceed the legal or industry minimum standards, and are always sufficient to meet the basic needs of personnel and to provide some discretionary income.

To ensure that wage and benefits composition are detailed clearly and regularly for workers, and that compensation is rendered in full compliance with all applicable laws and in a manner convenient to workers.

To ensure that labor-only contracting arrangements and apprenticeship schemes are undertaken in full compliance with ABB’s obligations under applicable laws pertaining to labor and social security legislation and regulations.

11. Suppliers:
To establish and maintain appropriate procedures to evaluate and select major suppliers and subcontractors on their ability to meet the requirements of ABB’s social policy and principles, and to maintain reasonable evidence that these requirements are continuing to be met.

12. Community involvement:
To promote and participate in community engagement activities that actively foster economic, environmental, social and educational development, as part of ABB’s commitment to the communities where it operates.

13. Business ethics:
To uphold the highest standards of business ethics and integrity and to support efforts of national and international authorities to establish and enforce high ethical standards for all businesses.

ABB’s health and safety policy

ABB seeks to provide a healthy and safe working environment at all sites and facilities and to take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury to health arising from the course of work by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.

Eight health and safety “expectations” support the policy and comprise the framework of the health and safety culture we are pursuing in ABB.

1.	Leadership and accountability – with clearly defined responsibilities, resources, and accountability for managers.
2.	Managing health and safety risks – at every stage of project, service or manufacturing life cycle, where meeting national and international standards is the minimum requirement.
3.	Demonstrating health and safety competence so that all managers, employees, safety advisors and contractors know their responsibilities and have the training and experience to carry them out.
4.	Ensuring safe contractors and business partners by selecting contractors and suppliers that perform to ABB’s health and safety requirements.
5.	Ensuring health and safety is integrated into the processes for managing change, both globally and locally.
6.	Ensuring a crisis and emergency management system is in place.
7.	Ensuring accident analysis and prevention is in place.
8.	Routine review of health and safety performance by managers, supported by a reporting process.

ABB’s business ethics policy

ABB seeks to uphold the highest standards of business ethics and integrity and to support efforts of national and international authorities to establish and enforce high ethical standards for all businesses.

ABB’s policy on business ethics belongs to the company’s core set of values and guiding principles. It is incorporated in ABB’s Business Ethics Standards, which set a “zero tolerance” ruling on non-compliance.

The ABB Group subscribes to the basic principles in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Conduct, 1999 revised edition, the OECD Convention from 1997, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 1977, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption from 2003.