- ABB seeks to help raise the quality of life in the communities where it operates, and be an employer of choice
- Country offices and departments run a wide variety of programs benefiting individuals and communities
- Several thousand employees volunteer to be part of social projects and fund-raising schemes in different parts of the world
ABB is present in most parts of the world, priding itself on a local approach in global operations. Being close to a local community, and being perceived as a worthy partner and good corporate citizen, are an essential part of being “at home”
in areas where the company operates.
Employees are proud of their ability to contribute to disadvantaged people where they live, and volunteer in droves for short- and medium-term projects.
Support takes a variety of forms. Refurbishing and supporting poor schools, helping disabled people by employing them at sub-assembly workshops in India, or by financing and helping to run centers for unemployed people and handicapped children in South Africa.
The list of projects is long. For example, ABB staff organize Christmas parcel collections in several South American countries and Canada; they run soup kitchens near three ABB plants in Brazil supporting 600 people every day; ABB in Norway is the main sponsor of a house in an SOS Children’s Village in Latvia; and in China, employees raised about one million Renminbi for a project to improve the housing of 1,000 elderly people in Shanghai.
In the United States, a year-long donation drive ended with a $90,000 cheque being given to a children’s hospital in Wickliffe, Ohio, to support activities not covered by medical insurance. And in Canada, the company matched employees’ generosity, raising a total of $180,000 for an organization which concentrates on community-building projects.
ABB is also involved environmental schemes: “Greening initiatives” see the company contributing to the improvement of parks and roadside verges in several countries; and in the United Arab Emirates the company sponsors and employees take part in a clean-up campaign.
Volunteer work is low-profile; self-satisfaction is the biggest reward. Sometimes, however, efforts are publicly recognized. In Italy, ABB won three prestigious Corporate Social Responsibility awards in 2007 for the contributions of employees to social projects in Italy and Africa.