Ericsson’s latest sustainability and responsibility report has an inspiring message and some nice details

There is no doubt that the word-cloud on the cover of Ericsson’s 2012 Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report has a silver lining. The inspiring future promised by the report’s title – Technology for Good – comes across loud and clear in the words of the company’s Facebook followers and employees.

Words such as sustainability, responsibility and respect feature prominently. And this theme of technology for good runs through the report, which focuses on the social and environmental benefits that Ericsson’s technologies are bringing across the entire value chain.

A two-page spread showing focus areas and impacts – from Ericsson’s supply chain and own operations through to product use and disposal – provides a simple and effective snapshot early on and sets up the value chain approach nicely. However, the rest of the report fails to follow this through with more detail on each area, moving instead into a more traditional issue-based structure that broadly, but not entirely, aligns with the company’s self-proclaimed “key” issues.

This lack of alignment is evident right from the start of the report. The reader is presented with five points that comprise the company’s sustainability and corporate responsibility strategy, five “key” issues and five main sections of the report.

All cover broadly similar topics, but the connections between these three lists of five can easily be lost. Bringing more consistency to the way Ericsson talks about the issues that are important to it would help to smooth the reader’s journey through the report.

In the main body of the report, the reader is drawn into each section with infographics that offer a taste of what’s to come, pointing to the successes and opportunities in each area, and their importance to Ericsson and its stakeholders. The use of infographics brings the report to life, adding colour to discussions and ideas around the opportunities for the dynamic ICT industry to bring sustainability benefits by increasing and expanding the connected society.

Like others in this sector, Ericsson’s report explores how ICT can improve the lives of those in developing countries, and its opportunity to develop a low-carbon economy. The section on “enabling communication for all” is made up of a series of in-depth case studies about Ericsson’s programmes in developing countries. This focus not just on potential but on real results is encouraging: 185,000 refugees are using an app developed by Ericsson and Refugees United to reconnect with their families.

More case studies are distributed throughout the other sections. The option to listen to the people themselves talk about the projects is a great feature, bringing personal perspectives to the stories.

Introducing interactivity into the PDF report would offer the opportunity to link out to the web content and aid navigation within the 55-page document. The sustainability and corporate responsibility website, where the report is hosted, offers sustainability information in an easily accessible format together with case study videos and the option to download and share the infographics.

That Ericsson has met – and in many cases exceeded – all but four of its 23 targets in 2012 at first might suggest the company has not aimed high enough, focusing only on quick wins. But on turning the page it is clear that many of these targets are stepping stones towards more ambitious long-term goals. While the 2012 objective to achieve 4.5% of WEEE take-back of equipment put on the market was more than met at 5%, this is dwarfed by the longer-term objective of 50% for 2017.

Impact assessment

A lifecycle assessment shows that Ericsson’s biggest environmental impacts are from the use of its products. And in 2012, the carbon footprint of products during use fell by 16%. Ericsson is also working with customers to help them reduce their energy consumption. The new global energy consulting hub, for example, helps customers reduce environmental impact and costs while improving network availability and quality.

On a key issue for telecommunications providers, human rights, it’s encouraging to see that Ericsson has stepped up its commitment. The company has updated its code of business ethics in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and established a country risk screening process to assess the risks for potential violations of human rights across the business. However, there is no mention of the potential risks identified or action taken as a result. Ericsson is engaging with Shift, an independent non-profit centre for business and human rights, to develop a human rights impact assessment tool for the company.

It’s clear that Ericsson is making progress towards developing and implementing Technology for Good, while addressing its direct environmental and social impacts across the entire value chain.

Pete Statham is a consultant at Context.

Snapshot

Follows GRI? Yes

Assured? Externally by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Materiality analysis? Yes

Goals? Yes

Targets? Yes

Stakeholder input? Yes

Seeks feedback? Yes

Key strengths? Use of infographics.

Chief weakness? Inconsistent terminology for five key focus areas.

Pleasant surprise? Two-page value chain analysis. 

CR report review  CR Reporting  Ericsson CR report  Pete Statham  sustainability reporting