Entitled “Everyday Actions that Count,” the report details the various activities undertaken as part of the company’s efforts to deliver energy-efficient solutions, to provide affordable and accessible communications, and to protect and enable  human rights around the world.

Ericsson President and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg says: “Our founder, Lars Magnus Ericsson, believed in communication as a basic human need – irrespective of where people lived and what their social status.  This spirit is still alive in the company today.” 

“We are dedicated to keeping this philosophy alive by linking our corporate responsibility commitments to our culture and to our core business.”

The report details Ericsson’s continued commitment to delivering sustainable energy solutions to its customers and thereby helping reduce the company’s global carbon footprint.
 

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, director of Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson, says: “During 2007, we undertook a number of initiatives which bring our philosophy to life. From the environmental perspective, we introduced a number of products and features that help reduce the energy consumed by telecommunication networks. These include the Ericsson Tower Tube, a new hybrid energy solution for diesel and batteries, and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) power-saving feature.

“In addition, we exceeded our own expectations for improving energy efficiency for both GSM and WCDMA radio base stations during 2007. For WCDMA, the overall objective was an improvement in energy efficiency of up to 80 percent by the end of 2008 from a 2001 baseline.  We nearly reached the target by the end of 2007, a year ahead of schedule.”

On the social and economic development perspectives, Ericsson has begun to introduce mobile and internet connectivity to more than 400,000 people in the Millennium Villages in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The company also demonstrated the benefits of mobile broadband in rural India through the Gramjyoti project.

With 2008 being the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the report also underlines Ericsson’s commitment to raising awareness of human rights among staff by demonstrating how telecommunications can act as an enabler for the rights to health, education and a livelihood.

To view Ericsson’s CR Report 2007, click here.