ABB Group - Automation and Power Technologies
| ABB Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Industry | Electrical Equipment |
| Founded | 21988 (Merfer of ASEA & Brown, Boveri & Cie) |
| Headquarters | Zurich Switzerland |
| Area Served | Worldwide |
| CEO | Ulrich Spiesshofer |
| Chairman | Hubertus von Grünberg |
| Products | Power technology, Industrial Automation |
| Market Value | 59.746,5 |
| Employees | 150 000 (2012) |
| Website | www.abb.com |
Contents
About ABB
ABB is a multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, operating mainly in robotics and the power and automation technology areas. ABB has operations in around 100 countries.
Engagement in Cultural Diplomacy
ABB’s engagement in Cultural Diplomacy is high, since they have an extensive employment and human rights policy that are based on different declarations. Moreover, they have their own foundation that supports students in their career with scholarships and sponsorships. Besides that, they are also active in the field of humanitarian aid.
Employment Policy
ABB has a social policy that was adopted in February 2001. It draws on five sources: the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s fundamental principles on rights at work, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the Global Sullivan Principles and the Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) standard, an auditable standard for the protection of workers’ rights developed by the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency.
Education
ABB have their own foundation: The ABB Jürgen Dormann Foundation for Engineering Education. This foundation gives scholarships to electrical engineering students from all over the world. ABB works together with more than 70 leading universities all over the world. They also have a ABB Research Grant Program. They sponsor ‘’promising graduate students and senior researchers with projects focusing on industrial applications of power and automation technologies that save energy and improve people's lives.’’ Additionally, 2014 was the third international event of the ABB Jürgen Dormann Foundation for Engineering Education. More than 30 students from 9 countries had the opportunity to come to Switzerland and work together in cross-cultural groups.
Notable activities
Activities in the Field of Humanitarian Aid
The ABB Sustainability Affairs Organization is responsible for the development and coordination of policies and programs covering health and safety, environment, corporate responsibility and security and crisis management. The team coordinates internal reporting across these disciplines and is responsible for the development of the Group Sustainability Performance Report.
Promoting Human and Civil Rights
In the ABB Supplier code of conduct it is written that as a supplier to ABB, ’’You shall respect the personal dignity, privacy and rights of each individual; refuse to make any person work against his or her will; and not tolerate behavior including gestures, language and physical contact, that is sexual, coercive, threatening, abusive or exploitative.’’ It also involves fair labor conditions and are against child labour:
’’You (the supplier) shall ensure fair labor conditions. In particular, you will - refrain from employment discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, union membership, political affiliation or sexual orientation; - respect the rights of employees to freely associate and bargain collectively; - not tolerate or use child labor in any stage of your activities other than in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations; - not use any forced labor or involuntary prison labor and allow all employees the choice to leave their employment freely upon reasonable notice; - compensate employees fairly and follow local wage regulations and / or collective agreements, and where these do not exist, compensate employees so at the minimum they can meet their basic needs;
ensure that working hours, including overtime, do not exceed applicable legal limits, and where such limits do not exist, we recommend that working hours not exceed sixty hours per week including overtime; and ensure that employees are allowed at least one uninterrupted day off per week
