2011 Report Overview

2011 Report Highlights

Over the past year, GE has made progress in a range of focus areas, from improving employee healthcare to advancing the use of energy-efficient infrastructure.

People

Customers
  • Created dozens of partnerships to meet customers’ needs, including Access GE’s 2.5-day executive education program for senior leaders of GE Capital clients
  • Made $3 billion in healthymagination investments since 2009, toward our original goal of $6 billion by 2015
Employees
  • GE has certified 354 of its ~480 sites (with employees greater than 100) in the HealthAhead program, which supports subsidized healthy food in cafeterias and low-cost fitness options
  • All GE campuses became tobacco-free as of November 1, 2011
  • Reduced GE’s injury and illness rate by 26% and lost-time cases by 19%
Communities
  • GE employees contributed an estimated 1.3 million volunteer hours on 6,200 company-sponsored initiatives
  • The GE family, including businesses, employees, retirees and the GE Foundation, contributed more than $198 million to community and educational foundations, more than $115 million of which came from the GE Foundation
  • GE committed more than $10 million in cash, equipment and services toward immediate relief and long-term recovery within areas affected by the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, along with more than $1 million in pledges from GE employees that was matched with GE Foundation Matching Gifts
Shareholders
  • GE’s stock price outperformed the S&P Financial and Industrial sectors, finishing almost unchanged, in line with the broader S&P 500 index
  • GE had two dividend increases in 2011 following two increases in 2010, a total 70% increase over two years

Planet

Water
  • GE reduced our freshwater consumption by 35% from a 2006 baseline and by 13.5% from 2010 through decreases in once-through cooling water use and successful implementation of Kaizen Blitz water reductions (a quality process) at select sites
  • GE began implementing a project that uses GE Water & Process Technology equipment to recycle and reuse water at one of our U.S. plants, which may reduce our global water use by an additional 5%
Energy & Climate
  • Since 2005, GE has trained approximately 3,000 employees to identify and quantify opportunities for energy-use reduction and has performed more than 200 Energy Treasure Hunts (an internal employee program to save energy) in global manufacturing and service facilities
  • GE’s energy use of 48.17 MMBtu was 19% below our adjusted 2004 baseline
  • GE’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 5.09 million MT of CO2 equivalent were a reduction of 29% from our adjusted 2004 baseline
  • The total installed base of all GE wind turbines delivered to all customers through 2011 increased from 24,500 MW in 2010 to 27,200 MW, avoiding approximately 50 million MT of CO2 equivalent emissions
Environment and Resource Management
  • Through our Ecoassessment Center of Excellence, we have worked to apply our knowledge of Life Cycle Management (LCM) to drive resource optimization in our products
  • GE conducted more than 30 Operations Manager EHS training sessions

Economy

Public Policy
  • GE and GE Foundation have continued to sponsor the ABA Rule of Law Project, a global effort to strengthen rule of law
  • GE’s Global Public Policy and national executive teams and the GE Foundation supported rule-of-law efforts in developing countries around the world, ranging from Albania to Yemen, in partnership with Partners for Democratic Change
  • GE has engaged Corporate Audit Staff to undertake audits at each of our major businesses, to survey the steps they have taken to operationalize the Human Rights Procedures
  • GE is an early participant in the Public Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pilot program to implement OECD due diligence guidance for sourcing minerals from conflict areas. GE and the GE Foundation have also supported the Conflict Free Smelter Early Adopters Fund and the Conflict Free Smelter program.
  • GE has revised its policy to permit broader GE business activities in Myanmar
Sustainable Systems
  • GE spent 4.6 billion in research and development—half of which supported ecomagination products
  • GE’s ecomagination revenue grew to generate $21 billion
  • GE aircraft engines were used for some of the first regularly scheduled airline passenger flights using biofuels
  • GE announced a $1 billion commitment to speed the fight against cancer and deliver better care to 10 million patients around the world by 2020, which included the launch of a $100 million healthymagination Open Innovation Challenge
  • GE’s global business generated $18 billion worth of exports from the U.S.
Governance & Compliance
  • Created a new Manager Open Reporting Tool, through which any manager, HR, Compliance, Legal or Corporate Audit staff professional can submit a compliance concern directly
  • GE has been highlighted in the World’s Most Ethical Companies list since the list’s inception
  • Developed GE-wide implementation policies for new procurement regulations to ensure a consistently high level of compliance
  • Conducted numerous training sessions, including regular monthly Webinars, training more than 1,300 employees on key government business topics