GE CitizenshipPriorities & Engagement
Citizenship is a full-time commitment employing the same goals, strategies and accountabilities that drive our business.
Today it is increasingly acknowledged that businesses affect the world through not only what they avoid doing, but also through what they choose to do when it comes to environmental and social issues, actions that in turn can influence business performance. Setting strategic priorities and engaging our stakeholders enables us to identify and address the essential themes that are material to GE business.
Resetting Responsibilities
Like so many urgent conversations in the world today, the 2008 Citizenship Report is framed by reflections on the financial crisis and prospects for recovery.
GE Citizenship Matrix
By integrating our citizenship framework, areas of leadership and business themes, we have the ability to better identify citizenship opportunities and challenges embedded in our business strategy.
Essential Themes
Energy & Climate Change
GE is an active participant in the climate change dialogue through public engagement, investments in sustainable energy and our own ecomagination commitments.
Growth Markets & Demographics
The world’s rapidly emerging markets and shifting demographics play a key role in GE’s growth strategy. They also present challenges to the way we do business around the world.
Financial Markets
GE practices thorough risk management, accountability and transparency to ensure growth and keep a healthy balance sheet in today’s turbulent financial climate.
Also In This Section
- Identifying Strategic Priorities
- Setting strategic priorities enables us to identify and address the essential themes that are material to GE business.
- Reporting Processes
- All content within this site was created according to our reporting processes and complies with our strict reporting standards.
- Commitments, Progress & Highlights
- Highlights from the year’s citizenship performance and an introduction to our new healthcare initiative, called healthymagination.
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Engaging with stakeholders allows us to better understand how our business goals can be aligned with societal goals.
- Operational Excellence
- Whether as an employer, supplier, customer or global citizen, GE solves problems with ingenuity and always performs with integrity.
- Priorities by Business
- GE’s businesses are aligned with the essential themes that impact our world today and will shape our future in years to come.
- Citizenship Fact Sheet
- Delivering financial results while investing in a sustainable future is a responsibility we take seriously.
Four citizenship areas of leadership
GE aspires to be a leader in corporate citizenship. To do so requires identifying the key areas of impact most relevant to our business. With this focus in mind, GE has identified four areas that are aligned with our company’s areas for opportunity and growth according to the business themes of our times — areas where we believe we can lead citizenship efforts. GE’s four leadership areas on citizenship also enable the company to strive for operational and strategic excellence across the world. These four areas are:
- Ecomagination — Ecomagination is a growth strategy that addresses our customers’ needs for more energy-efficient products and services.
- Emerging Markets — Growth in emerging markets allows us to lay the foundation for responsible citizenship from the inception of a business opportunity.
- Compliance and Governance — Compliance and governance is the cornerstone of our reputation and requires the full commitment of our company to uphold.
- Environment, Health & Safety — We use the same EHS expectations for our operations around the globe, best-in-class tools and training, and clear operational accountability to deliver EHS results.
Elements of GE’s citizenship framework
To determine what is most important to GE, we are guided by our citizenship framework in our discussions and engagements with stakeholders, giving consideration to the following elements of GE’s citizenship framework:
- Make money — GE’s business strategy that consists of major global themes and GE business priorities guiding our core business.
- Make it ethically — Rigorous compliance with financial and legal rules.
- Make a difference — The impact GE makes through our core business activities that includes aspects of sustainability where GE, taking operational/strategic leadership or collaborating with society, can make the most impact on the world and our business.