ABB advocates and promotes sustainable corporate social responsibility
ABB calls on all walks of life to help vulnerable groups
Shanghai, China, May 13, 2009 –ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced recently in Shanghai that facing global recession, ABB will not only maintain its pace of investment in China but also continue its commitment to a sustainable development in social welfare projects, caring vulnerable groups, financing impoverished college students, elderly from nursing homes and students from earthquake-stricken areas in Wenchuan Sichuan Province. The efforts have demonstrated that ABB attaches great importance sustainable development in social welfare programs. The company has translated the idea into its corporate social responsibility to advocate meaningful charitable actions.
The new site of ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd. was inaugurated on May 12, 2009, the day of one year anniversary of Wenchuan Earthquake. During the inauguration ceremony, ABB donated a portion of the event budget to support over 20 financially disadvantaged college students from the earthquake-stricken area in Sichuan Province and help them to finish their studies; During “ABB Automation World” on May 13 and 14, ABB made donation to ABB-New Great Wall Fund for College Students Program for the fifth consecutive year and to nursing homes for the elderly in Shanghai Program for the third consecutive year, to support vulnerable groups in the society.
Brice Koch, President of the ABB North Asia Region and Chairman of ABB China, stressed, “The current global financial crisis has hit every country and every entities. But we firmly believe that corporate citizen shall support charity activities and honor its commitment to social welfare projects more than ever before. At the time of crisis, the vulnerable groups need our care, support and help more than anyone.”
Caring for vulnerable groups and valuing sustainable growth have always been central tenets for ABB in its corporate social responsibility programs. After the Wenchuan earthquake, ABB quickly provided support for the rescue and reconstruction efforts and has accumulatively donated 11.45 million RMB towards residents and relief programs of the local power facilities in the disaster stricken area.
The moment the earthquake hit, ABB initiated donation and rescue activities across the company; six months later when the Sichuan earthquake was no longer in the headlines, ABB called on the participants at its “ABB Technology Days” events and jointly raised 280,000 RMB for the ABB-New Great Wall Fund for College Students to finance 129 college students from the earthquake areas to finish their study in Sichuan and Chongqing. On the one year anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake, ABB, with approval of honored guests, donated event budget for guests’ souvenirs to help another 20 students from the earthquake stricken region to finish their studies. In addition, the two schools ABB financed in the disaster area are currently under construction. The company has sent designated staff to supervise the overall projects from campus design plan, project tendering to construction and guarantee that the schools will be finished on time in order to provide quality and safe school buildings for the youth in the region. One school financed by ABB shall be opened by the end of 2009. Students will continue their studies in the new school.
In supporting education, ABB advocates its support of sustainable development as it helps the financially disadvantaged students over the course of several years. ABB has donated 1 million RMB to the ABB-New Great Wall Fund for College Students every year since 2005 to specially finance and support poor college students majoring in the fields of power and automation to complete their studies. During the “ABB Automation World” event, ABB donated another 1 million RMB to the Fund, making the total ABB donation into the Fund over 5 million RMB. With the help of ABB, many students with impoverished family environment and desperate life condition managed to finish their studies. Over the past 5 years, the sustained charitable actions of ABB have benefited nearly 1,000 college students in 37 colleges and universities across the country.
Shanghai is China’s first city with increasing aged population, but the challenge of aging population didn’t arouse enough attention in the society at the beginning. With the idea of caring vulnerable groups who lack social support, ABB launched a charitable program to support houses for the elderly in Shanghai in 2007. By 2009, over 1600 elderly from 15 nursing houses have reaped the benefits. Over the past three years, ABB and its employees have not only donated money and goods, but also organized regularly visits to these nursing houses. ABB staff bought coats for the elderly in winter, took them to sightseeing nearby in summer and sent their favorite opera drama CDs. Some staffs even brought their children to perform magic, comic talk and games to the elderly, filling the nursing homes with laughter and happiness.
ABB’s charitable actions influenced both its employees and the society positively. After ABB initiated its nursing home program, Shanghai governments at different levels also joined the efforts of improving the wellbeing of the elderly, renovating some houses and improve the living condition and facilities for the elderly. Inspired by ABB, more than 10 companies joined the action of “Caring the senior generation and caring ours future”, sending their support to the nursing home and love and care to the elderly in their distinct way.
Brice Koch said, “we are happy to see that ABB’s idea and action are well echoed by the society. Our customers, partners and all walks of life are actively responding to our calling and devoting themselves into social welfare programs to make their own contribution to the harmonious development of the society.”
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 15,000 employees, 27 joint ventures and wholly owned companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 60 cities. To find out more about ABB in China, visit www.abb.com.cn.