Published July 24, 2012
RACHEL NUGENT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, GLOBAL HEALTH AT THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT Ill health in developing countries is a major cause of poverty and a barrier to economic development. Most people recognize that this means that combating infectious diseases and making childbirth and the first years of life safer should be key priorities for development. However, fewer recognize that...
Published July 24, 2012
How can we do what we do better? Public-private partnerships (PPPs) that pair companies, the public sector, and civil society offer a powerful answer to this question. Partnerships can enhance true coordination, use resources efficiently, and eliminate duplicated efforts to deal with some of society’s toughest social and environmental challenges. When successful, PPPs can: Balance...
Published July 24, 2012
The job of designers, engineers and marketers is to continually innovate and improve products. But what makes a better product? GE invests billions of dollars in R&D to create and bring to market new innovations that solve problems and create products that improve the cost, quality and access of healthcare. However, in a world facing...
Published July 18, 2012
One of the big challenges of the city of Campinas, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has been the treatment of sewage. A significant amount is still being discharged into rivers without treatment, jeopardizing the safety of the water available downstream for the population. As part of the city’s master plan for sanitation...
Published July 18, 2012
In January 2010, GE and Petrobrás celebrated the use of sugarcane-ethanol in a gas turbine system to produce electricity on a full commercial scale, a world’s first. The operation, at the Juiz de Fora power plant, is a significant milestone for Brazil. GE’s investments in renewable energy should double to $6 billion in 2010. The...
Published July 18, 2012
GLEN PARKES, SOURCING QUALITY MANAGER, GE INDIA OIL & GAS How are environment, health, safety and quality standards being enforced at GE India Oil & Gas? We have an internal philosophy at Oil & Gas built around compliance, environment, health and safety (EHS), and quality called “Stop the Line.” “Stop the Line” is similar...
Published July 18, 2012
At more than 300 sites around the world, GE employees have conducted “Treasure Hunts.” An Energy Treasure Hunt is a process leveraged from lean manufacturing, developed by Toyota and refined by GE, designed to identify projects and opportunities to reduce energy use. To date, participating GE facilities have identified opportunities to reduce energy use by 20%...
Published July 16, 2012
In November 2010, GE held a Supplier Summit in Shanghai. Leaders from GE’s global and business sourcing, labor, and environment health and safety (EHS) teams came together with peer companies, suppliers, and government and trade union officials to share experiences. They discussed the challenges faced in securing safe and fair working conditions, as well as...
Published July 13, 2012
Few people have ever heard of rhenium—a rare and semi-precious metal—but it is an important material in the aerospace industry. Modern jet engines require rhenium as an alloying element—critical to the performance of commercial, military and even rocket engines used for space exploration. Rhenium also happens to be one of the rarest elements on earth...
Published July 12, 2012
ENGELINA JASPERS, VICE PRESIDENT, HP ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY The path to market for today’s products and services is often circuitous, whether for a personal computer, Smart Grid solutions for utilities, or cockpit controls for the aviation industry. Multinational corporations, such as HP and GE, use global supply chains to source, create and deliver products and services...
GE’s 2012 online report highlights progress against commitments on our social, environmental and economic impacts—or, what we call People, Planet and Economy.
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