A Letter from Jeff Immelt

In our 2008 citizenship report, I wrote about a “reset world” in which the expectations of peace and unprecedented prosperity with which we started the century had been shattered by volatility in the natural and political world and by the global financial crisis.

As the Citizenship Advisory Panel highlights in this report, the challenge of sustainable and resilient growth goes beyond what can be achieved by individual projects and programs. The key problem is how to scale up solutions to meet the size and urgency of global challenges.

The ability to innovate on a large scale is what defines GE. Over the past 10 years, we have repositioned the Company to focus on providing the infrastructure and financial services that growing economies depend on, and solving the global challenges of clean energy, affordable healthcare and productivity. We have tripled the amount of revenues invested back into R&D from 2% to 6%. Through local research centers and our ecomagination and healthymagination strategies, we have developed products that are significantly more efficient, and available at lower price points, and we have grown our business outside of the U.S. from 30% to 60% of the Company. We have done this while continuing with a commitment to high standards of integrity and social and environmental performance.

But more of the same is not enough. Sustainable growth requires solutions that go beyond the scale of individual companies, even those on the scale of GE. Nations around the world will need to find the resources and confidence to invest in institutions and good governance, training and skills, and infrastructure and research, to enable whole economies to transform to meet the opportunities for cleaner, greener growth. Private capital exists to fund many of these developments, but depends on the investment certainty provided by clear public policy.

We are investing in clean technologies like energy efficiency, wind and solar, nuclear, smart grid and electric vehicles, because we believe it is not a question of “if” but “when” the world will shift toward more sustainable growth. We remain committed to nuclear as part of the overall energy mix, and we are committed to learning from all the events created by the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

As economies renew, both governments and business must tackle inequality and widen opportunity. This is an agenda we are pursuing with governments around the world. In the U.S., I am working with other leaders on the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to tackle the problem of persistent and high unemployment—and the pessimism it breeds.

The public investments needed for a competitive economy all cost money, and it is part of the corporate responsibility of business to contribute a fair share of its profits.

Our approach to citizenship is to take part in conversations on issues concerning business and society, to understand and find solutions. Taxation is an important part of the broader relationship between business, government and society, and I welcome debate.

Jeffrey R. Immelt
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer