technology for good

Ericsson Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

about ericsson
Ericsson is a driving force behind the Networked Society – a world leader in communications technology and services. The Company’s long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future. Ericsson’s services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud – are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities. With more than 115,000 professionals and customers in more than 180 countries, Ericsson ­ ombines global c scale with tech­ ology and services leadership. Investments in research and development ensure that Ericsson’s n solutions – and its customers – stay in the forefront. The Company provides support for networks with more than
2.5 billion subscribers. Approx­mately 40% of the world’s mobile traffic is carried through ­ etworks delivered by i n
Ericsson. Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The Ericsson share is listed on
Nasdaq Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
Cover photo: Myanmar, a country undergoing democratic and social reform, has one of world’s lowest levels of mobile broadband p ­ enetration. ICT can play a huge role in boosting socio-economic development. In 2014, Ericsson began serving customers in Myanmar, and also joined the UK Department for International Development to support girls’ education in the country.

about this report
This report, together with additional information available online, summarizes our 2014 sustainability and corporate responsibility (CR) performance.

Ericsson and its subsidiaries. The Ericsson Annual Report 2014 provides information on Ericsson’s structure, nature of ownership and legal form, subsidiaries, as well as changes regarding size, structure and financial performance.

Sustainability and CR are central to Ericsson’s core business and our commitment to the triple bottom line of responsible financial and environmental performance and socio-economic development. Our aim is to create positive impacts for our stakeholders and our business while managing environmental, social and ethical risks. Conducting business responsibly is a top priority, and we take a full value chain perspective.
We believe this approach delivers new business opportunities, greater efficiency, less risk, greater brand value, market leadership employer attractiveness, and boosts long-term competitiveness.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index 3.0
A GRI index for our performance in 2014 is on p. 54.

UN Global Compact Advanced
Ericsson is reporting for the third year in a row according to the UN
Global Compact (UNGC) Advanced Level criteria.
UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework
With this report, Ericsson is the first in the ICT sector to report according to the new UN Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and
Human Rights Reporting Framework launched in February 2015.
Report Boundaries
Unless otherwise stated, all information and data pertains to activities undertaken from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014. The report covers the Ericsson Group, i.e. Telefonaktiebolaget LM

For reporting of suspected violations of laws or the Ericsson Code of Business Ethics, please email: reporting.violations@ericsson.com

i

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Technology for Good™
By 2020, 90% of the world’s population will be covered by mobile broadband networks. This scale brings unprecedented opportunity to address global sustainable development challenges. In the Networked Society, Ericsson is the leading advocate of Technology for Good™. It is a concept we work with every day, and is the overarching theme of this report.
External Assurance and GRI Application Level A+
This Report has been assured by PricewaterhouseCoopers, see Assurance
Statement on p. 56. The scope of the assurance by external auditor PwC includes an audit on Ericsson’s own CO2 emissions. The GRI G3 guidelines have been used in compiling this Report and a complete GRI compilation appears online.
Ericsson’s Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014 has achieved an A+ application level, which means the Report has been externally assured, and that the application level has been checked by a third party, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
000-150

To help us improve reporting and ensure transparency, we welcome your feedback and questions on our report and performance, please email: corporate.responsibility@ericsson.com

contents
About Ericsson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Letter from the CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Letter from the VP of Sustainability and CR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2014 at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Strategy to drive positive change and reduce risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Engaging with stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Advocating for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Our most important sustainability impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CONDUCTING BUSINESS RESPONSIBLY
Building trust through responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing human rights challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Due diligence in the sales process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Anti-corruption a top priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proactive engagement on responsible sourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Raising transparency on conflict minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A strengthened approach to health and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11
12
15
16
17
19
20

People
Our people anchored by core values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building skills for the Networked Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Committed to diversity and inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Facts and figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27
29
30
33
34
35

10

21
22
23
25

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
On energy and climate, ICT enables transformation . . . . . . . . . .
Assessing ICT sector carbon footprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rethinking energy performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Handling e-waste responsibly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Improving performance of our own ­ perations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o Facts and figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our key objectives and achievements are on pages 52–53. We also report progress on earlier objectives throughout the report, noted on various pages with the following icon.

26

Enabling a low-carbon economy
Enabling a low-carbon economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Intelligence in the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Transport shifts gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

COMMUNICATION FOR ALL
Connecting the unconnected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mobile money meets needs of unbanked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bringing 4G to Peruvian Amazon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Connecting community kiosks in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extending the reach of Connect To Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ericsson Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reconnecting families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Transforming young lives on path to peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Breaking down barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41
42
43
43
44
46
47
48
49

In recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Objectives and achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GRI Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auditors’ Combined Assurance Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engage with us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

51
52
54
56
57
Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

1

Letter from the CEO
Any future vision of sustainable development must be linked to technology transformation.” the UN Sustainable Development Solutions
Network is to help ensure that viable solutions are part of this framework.
Hans Vestberg
President and CEO

Welcome to our 2014 report.
Never in human history have we been more connected. In a few years, 90% of the world’s population will have access to mobile communications. That’s a staggering development, changing every aspect of our lives.
In the Networked Society, everyone and everything will be connected in real time.
As a leading ICT company, our role is to drive this transformation, opening up new ways to innovate, to collaborate and to empower people, business and society. We want to ensure that connectivity paves the way for environmentally sustainable and equitable social and economic development.
Driving positive change
Our ambition at Ericsson is to be a responsible and relevant driver of positive change in the Networked Society. From climate change and poverty reduction to urbani­ zation, the major challenges confronting our world require transformative, not inc­ e­ r mental, solutions. Small steps forward won’t deliver the necessary scale to find effective solutions to pressing global issues.
The global community is charged with carrying on the work of the Millennium Development Goals beyond 2015. Any future vision of sustainable development must be linked to technology transformation.
As chair of the Working Group for Sustainable Development and the Post-2015
Development Agenda of the Broadband
Commission for Digital Development, during 2014 I led the work on a new report
“Means of Transformation.” Our aim is to spur the international community to act swiftly to capture the unrealized potential of ICT and broadband to enable the post2015 development agenda and help build a more inclusive, sustainable society. My contribution to the Leadership Council of

2

A transformative technology
Mobility, broadband and the cloud are transforming industries. Utilities are deploying smart metering to save electricity costs and reduce carbon emissions while connected cars enhance safety and enable electric vehicle charging. Smart grids and more efficient public transport ease the challenges of urbanization.
Technology is also transforming how we meet basic needs. In Connect to Learn, now in 21 countries, we partner in a public-­ private initiative using cloud-based ICT solutions to deliver high-quality secondary education worldwide while highlighting the need to improve access to education for girls. With 2.5 billion unbanked people globally, our mobile money platform is addressing the challenge of financial inclusion. Community health workers equipped with mobile phones in the devastating
Ebola fight are better able to save lives.
These are the kind of impacts that illustrate the power of Technology for Good™, and in 2015 our initiatives aim to impact more than 5 million people.
Sustainability at the core
At Ericsson, sustainability and corporate responsibility are integrated in our corporate strategy. Our aim is to continuously improve our sustainability performance – in areas such as good governance, responsible sourcing, and health and safety – to minimize risks to our, and our customers’, brands and earn the trust of our stakeholders.
Ericsson continues to support the ten principles of the United Nations Global
Compact and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP), and we were first in our sector to use the new UNGP Reporting Framework. We think this is important because while human rights such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy are enabled by
ICT, there is also a risk the technology can

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

be misused. We are working to ensure greater privacy and security in our networks, and are active in multi-stakeholder dialogue to address concerns.
Steady progress
As described throughout this report, in
2014 Ericsson made considerable progress with sustainability and CR, although there is much left to do. Our targets are designed to indicate our priorities, both in terms of reducing risks, and increasing positive impacts, and we continue to deliver real performance. As Ericsson’s most significant environmental impact is the energy used by our products in operation, we put heavy emphasis on helping customers optimize their networks. Our new Ericsson Radio System provides a
50% improvement in energy efficiency.
We also seek to reduce the carbon footprint of our own performance. We are on track towards our objective to maintain absolute CO2e emissions from business travel, product transport and facilities at
2011 levels up to 2017. This equates to a reduction of 30% CO2e per employee, and this year, we reduced emissions by 10%
CO2e per employee.
To accelerate action towards a low-carbon economy, we also set a new goal this year to help other sectors of the economy reduce societal carbon emissions by a factor of 2 relative to Ericsson’s own carbon emissions in 2014. We will do this by implementing ICT-enabled solutions such as smart meters and smart transport solutions.
Scaling positive impact
This is only the very start. ICT-enabled solutions can and should be a powerful tool for sustainable development. By enabling every area of society to use mobility, broadband and the cloud to address global challenges, we can ensure our sector’s legacy is a positive one.

Hans Vestberg
President and CEO

Letter from the VP of Sustainability and CR
We strive to be positive change-makers in the
Net­worked Society.”

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald
Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Dear stakeholders,
Two decades of strong commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility
(CR) has launched Ericsson on a business mission to positively impact the world around us. Each year brings new challenges and opportunities, but over time, sustainability and CR have become an integral part of our mindset and identity, and the impact we want to have on the world.
Establishing strong foundations
Our vision to be a responsible and relevant driver of positive change in the Networked
Society starts with conducting business responsibly. If we don’t get this right, it will be difficult to succeed in an increasingly transparent Networked Society.
This is of growing importance to our stakeholders, and Ericsson aims to raise the performance bar each year in areas like human rights, responsible sourcing and anti-corruption. Equally important is our focus on energy, the environment and climate change – and ensuring the benefits of mobility reach everyone. We have targets in all areas that help guide our work and measure performance.
Embedding sustainability and CR
One of our key aims is to embed sustainability and CR in everything we do. It is integrated into our business strategy and our portfolio as a key business factor, and
2014 saw many exciting portfolio developments. Financial and social inclusion for the 2.5 billion unbanked is a central focus of our mobile commerce business. Our TV
Anywhere solution can be brought to even the remotest corners of the world over mobile broadband. To help shape the low-carbon society of the future, our
Industry & Society portfolio offers viable

solutions for the utility and transport sectors like smart grids and our Connected
Vehicle Cloud.
Technology for Good
Providing affordable and accessible mobile broadband can help break the cycle of poverty for millions of people around the world. Despite rapid growth of the ICT industry, today, more than 4 billion people do not have access to the internet.
In the 48 Least Developed Countries, 90% of the population is unconnected. Market forces alone cannot address the main b ­ arriers to progress: infrastructure, affordability and usage. Greater joint efforts are needed by industry, governments and o ­ thers to close this gap.
As the leading advocate for Technology for Good™ in the Networked Society, we use our technology and solutions to address global sustainable development challenges.
In 2014, we scaled up our education solution Connect to Learn, and secured our first large-scale engagement with a national development agency (DFID in the UK) to expand secondary education to thousands of marginalized girls in Myanmar.
Tackling the challenges
Despite great progress in our sustainability and CR aims, we also met new challenges, in areas like privacy and freedom of expression, reducing health and safety incidents in the supply chain, and setting more realistic levels for the volumes of e-waste collected. We also need more women in the ICT sector, an industry challenge that we work with others to tackle.
But addressing these challenges can also result in new opportunities to build trust among our stakeholders. Our ability to meet expectations is increasingly important in handling emerging risks and challenges. For example, telecom is a powerful enabler of human rights, but c ­ ertain functionality can also be misused.
We acknowledge mounting concern among investors, customers, civil society

and other stakeholders about the complex issues surrounding privacy, surveillance, cybersecurity and freedom of expression in the ICT sector, and in 2014 we significantly increased our stakeholder engagement and outreach on these topics.
An untapped potential
ICT and broadband are increasingly integrated into every aspect of the global economy as a vital part of modern infrastructure. As a technology advocate, I know what a huge impact ICT can have on each one of the 17 proposed UN Sustainable Development Goals. It seems obvious to me, and many others in our industry, that ICT should be a central element in any framework for addressing sustainable development. But technology is rapidly evolving and not everyone has understood its full potential.
The UN and other organizations have an enormous opportunity to make this link
– between existing technologies like ICT where industry and governments have invested billions, if not trillions, and national and global sustainable development plans.
There are some quick wins to be gained, for example, in climate change, by engaging more with the ICT sector and its solutions-based approach.
In closing, whether it is stakeholder consultation, customer engagement, or public-private partnerships, more multi-­ sector engagement is crucial for providing leverage, impact and scale to many of the areas presented in this report. By working with others, we develop a true understanding of the trade-offs and impacts our business has in the world. With this insight and our commitment, we strive to be positive change-makers in the Networked Society.

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald
Vice President,
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

3

2014 at a glance
Conducting
Business
Responsibly

ICT company to report according to the UN
Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights
Reporting Framework

71%

of Ericsson employees feel that the Company’s efforts on sustainability and corporate respons­ibility have increased their overall job satisfaction
(15% above external benchmark)

Energy,
Environment,
Climate CHANGE

– 10%

98%

recycling of materials through product take-back

Over

Communication for All

350,000

Connect To Learn now in

21

countries

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

10,000 tonnes e-waste collected

CO2e reduction per employee

4

Over

registered in
Refugees United database to find separated families

“Zero
Incidents
in High-Risk
Environments
and Occupational
Health&Safety”
program established

90,000 employees have taken anti-corruption training

1.4

million tonnes CO2

Estimated carbon reductions in
2014 from two Ericsson selected offerings 50%

Ericsson Radio System provides a 50% improve­ ment in energy efficiency

4

million

people positively impacted through our Technology for Good™ initiatives The UN Guiding Principles Reporting
Framework is a ground-breaking and vital tool for companies like Ericsson to know and show that they are managing risks to human rights effectively throughout their operations and value chain, with the potential for positive impact on millions of peoples’ lives.”

Caroline Rees, President of Shift

Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and we face steep financial risk if we do not mitigate them. The business case for action to mitigate climate change has never been stronger or more urgent. For this reason we congratulate Ericsson that has achieved a position on The A List: The CDP Climate
Performance Leadership Index. Ericsson is responding to market demand for environmental accountability and at the same time is making progress towards the realization of sustainable economies.”
Paul Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of CDP

Ericsson’s contribution of ICT tools and training is helping the Whitaker Peace &
Development Initiative create a truly connected Youth Peacemaker Network in South Sudan,
Uganda and Mexico. Their commitment allows us to advance our shared goal to collectively make the world a place where peace, hope and reconciliation can be communicated to all, one connection at a time.”

Forest Whitaker, Founder and CEO of
The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative;
UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

5

strategy to drive positive change and reduce risk
An important part of Ericsson’s ambition is to be a responsible and relevant driver of positive societal change. Our commitment to sustainability and CR is essential to achieving this ambition, and to create value for our employees, customers, shareholders and society.
As a leader in the ICT industry, our aim is to provide significant and measurable contributions to a sustainable Networked
Society.
The Networked Society
The Networked Society goes beyond more than 50 billion connected devices. It is the result of people starting to use those connections to make their lives, businesses and society better and more efficient. We facilitate this development through our ideas and solutions, our products and s ­ ervices, and our partnerships.
In our vision of a Networked Society, every person and every industry is empowered to reach their full potential. We believe a better, more sustainable world will take shape when 21st century infrastructure is used to deliver services more effectively and promote social inclusion.
Integrated across the business
Sustainability and CR is integrated in
E
­ ricsson’s business strategy, target-­

Ericsson’s ambition
Grow faster than the market with best-in-class margins

Customer

Shareholder

Leading ICT transformation partner

Shareholder value creator

Employees

Society

Attract, develop and retain best talent

Responsible and r ­ elevant driver of
­positive change

setting and risk management process which involves Regions, Business Units and Group Functions.
Governance
Sustainability and CR policies are part of our governance system and applied globally across the business. These include the Sustainability Policy, Code of Conduct,
Code of Business Ethics and Occupational
Health and Safety Policy. The Code of Business Ethics is periodically acknowledged by all employees.
The Ericsson Sustainability and CR
Steering Group is comprised of senior executives who approve the strategy and

targets that support our commitments. For more information on governance, see p.11.
Measuring progress
To track our performance, we report on a range of objectives, risks, and achievements associated with our most material issues and aim for continuous improvements over time.
Focused strategy
Our Sustainability and CR strategy
(see below) remains constant, focused on reducing risks and increasing positive impacts in society.

Our sustainability and CR strategy
Our Sustainability and CR strategy is focused on driving positive change in three main areas: Responsible Business Practice, Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and Communication for All. Each area includes ­ pecific goals upon which we measure progress year on year. s Undisputed leader in energy and environment
Trusted partner by ­ onducting c business responsibly

Improve performance of our own operations

Technology for Good™
Impact and Scale

Demonstrate ICT and low-carbon benefits

Responsible Business Practice

6

Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Communication for All

engaging with stakeholders
Listening to, and learning from, stake­ olders helps address shared h c
­ hallenges, and find common
­solutions.
Engaging with stakeholders is an inclusive and continuous process that allows us to build relationships and create mutual under­ standing. Our stakeholders include employees, investors, customers, suppliers, governments, civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry partners, media, academia, and consumers.
Woven into daily business
Interactions with stakeholders are part of the day-to-day operations of our business.

We reach out to stakeholders through a variety of means such as employee d ­ ialogues, joint projects and initiatives; customer meetings; investor meetings; surveys, membership in industry groups and representation on decision-making bodies or academic research. Other interactions include in-person meetings, online dialogues, consultation with affected stakeholders, and formal public reports.
We engage with customers on many issues, including supply chain management, energy efficiency and our Technology for Good™ programs. We leverage our social media to extend the conversation.
Strengthening approach
In 2014 we developed a more detailed pro-

Engaging with stakeholders
A. ith Whom
W
companies need to engage
D. When engagement should take place

B. About What issues companies need to engage
E. Corporate/ Policy Level engagement

cess for stakeholder engagement, in order to ensure that we are transparently communicating and reporting about these issues in a relevant, meaningful and transparent way. One of the focus areas was the management of CR risks, including human rights.
Focus areas
Stakeholder engagement also contributes to better management of CR risks, and one particular focus area for Ericsson in this regard is human rights (p.12). Other
CR risks areas we address through stakeholder engagement include responsible sourcing, corruption, health and safety, conflict minerals, and handling of e-waste.

In our approach to stakeholder engagement, we carefully consider each step of the process in order to achieve the greatest impact.

C. How engagement should take place

F. Internal engagement

G. Engaging Neutrals when necessary

Advocating for change
Ericsson takes an active role in advocating for ICT’s transformational role in sustainable development. This includes connecting the unconnected as well as scaling up access to education, reducing carbon emissions, and contributing to sustainable urbanization, women’s empowerment, peacebuilding and human­tarian response. i Focus areas include: Highlighting broadband’s role in
­sustainable development: The Working
Group on Sustainable Development of the
Broadband Commission for Digital Develop­ ment, chaired by Ericsson CEO, published a new report in 2014 “Means of Trans­ orm­ f ation,” highlighting ICT’s role in proposed new Sustainable Development Goals.

Conducting business responsibly:
Human rights, anti-corruption, and responsible sourcing are among our focus areas. In 2014, for example, we participated in a case study by the Institute for
Human Rights and Business (p.13) to f ­ urther multi-stakeholder dialogue on human rights challenges in the ICT sector. Supporting UN initiatives: Ericsson is involved with advocacy and solutions in many UN initiatives, including the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which gathers academia, civil society and the private sector to mobilize action on sustainable development (p. 44) and Together for Safer
Roads, a coalition launched in 2014 (p. 39).

Expanding humanitarian response: We see huge potential for ICT to help address crises from health to refugees and disaster response. We are a member of the UN
Emergency Telecom Cluster and in 2014, we launched a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (p. 46). World Economic Forum: As a partner of the World Economic Forum, we join other leading global companies to support a commitment to improve the state of the world. Sustainable development is one of our key focus areas.
Many other advocacy initiatives are described throughout this report.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

7

Our most important sustainability impacts
A materiality assessment is a vital element in our sustainability and CR strategy, reporting, and targetand risk-setting process. We look at the economic, environmental and social impacts most significant to our business, and those that substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.
Assess and engage

HIGH

Actively address and engage

27
7

34

41

22
17

21

5

8

13
12
18

3

32

15 37

38

20
30

23

31

16
Address
Engage when appropriate

Importance to Ericsson

Conducting business responsibly*

14

24

Assess

LOW

39

10
9

40
25

36

28 11

33

35
29

1

4

2

6
19

Interest to stakeholders

26

HIGH

Energy, environment and climate change*

Communication for all*

2 Unintended use of ICT

20 E-waste management

36 Access to education

3 Radio waves and public health

21 Biodiversity

37 Digital inclusion

4 Respect Human Rights

22 Emissions (effluents, air emissions other than GHG)

38 ICT socio-economic impact

23 Environmental legal compliance

40 Access to healthcare

1 Anti-corruption

5 Child labor
6 Information security
(including cybersecurity)
7 Right to privacy
8 Forced labor
9 Freedom of association
10 Policy engagement and advocacy
11 Responsible sourcing
12 Tracing of conflict minerals
13 Diversity and inclusion
14 Occupational health and safety
15 Employee engagement
16 Responsible land use
17 Product information and ­ abeling l 24 Waste management
(office and production)
25 Water consumption

39 Access to communication
41 Peace building and conflict
­resolution

26 Ericsson carbon footprint
27 Climate change
28 Product energy performance
29 Use of renewable energy
30 Hazardous substances avoidance
31 Efficient use of materials
(excluding hazardous)
32 ICT contribution to low-carbon economy 18 Responsible tax

33 Energy consumption
(Ericsson own activities)

19 Freedom of expression

8

35 Disaster response

34 Smart cities

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

*  umbering for reference in the graph,
N
not in order of importance.

Ericsson regularly reviews issues to ensure our materiality assessment captures the aspects most vital to our sustainability impacts. Prioritizing helps us make better decisions and guides our strategic choices. Gathering insight
This year we took into account the Global e-Sustainability initiative’s (GeSI) updated materiality assessment for the ICT industry, to which Ericsson contributed. Notable issues highlighted in the assessment include additional privacy, human rights and waste concerns, as well as recognition that the Internet of Things – the inter-­ connection of various objects, devices and applications through wireless communications – is in fact becoming a reality.
Ericsson identifies stakeholders and their significance to the business and incorporate stakeholder perspectives in our work.

Prioritizing issues
We use previous materiality assessments as the starting point to rank issues in order of importance and then include updates based on developments during the year.
We take into account upstream and downstream material issues across the value chain. Life-cycle assessment helps to identify and measure opportunities to decrease negative environmental impacts.
Human Rights Impact Assessments help identify salient human rights issues.
We actively address issues deemed most material to Ericsson. We manage efforts to tackle the issue, and investigate, steer and/or implement new governance procedures to ensure business sustainability and accountability. We also engage on this set of issues with stakeholders, through dialogue and advocacy, to demonstrate the positive socio-economic and environmental effects of mobility, broadband and the cloud. Issues in which

we assess and engage are those rising in importance for Ericsson and stakeholders.
We assess by reviewing and monitoring the evolution of an issue and we report on our performance in these areas. For some issues, we address and engage when appropriate. Issues which we assess are important and we have procedures in place to ensure that we are working according to our stakeholders’ expectations on these issues. Stakeholders generally require less disclosure about performance in these areas as they are aware of our standards and express confidence in our ability to adequately address them.

Right to privacy rising on agenda
The ICT sector is facing new challenges arising from the use of technology – notably the convergence of previously separate industries such as telecoms, data management and media. “Big data” provides opportunities for improving efficiencies and gaining business insights. It can also pose societal risks if misused.
We have identified the right to privacy as one of Ericsson’s salient human rights issues, and recognize that it is important to stakeholders as well. Privacy and security issues affect businesses as well as individuals, particularly as commerce becomes increasingly digitized. We are committed to good governance and responsible b ­ usiness practices in this area, as well as to multi-stakeholder dialogue. See ­ urther f discussion on our approach to human rights (p.12).
New technologies and capabilities across the ICT ­ ector mean that more s aspects of our lives are becoming c ­ onnected, and with that arises new

c
­ hallenges. The trend towards a digitized society is increasingly placing empasis on the right to privacy. Ericsson has introduced a Privacy by Design Framework, which ensures privacy is considered from the beginning of any product release and made an integral part of the product development process.

56%

of smartphone owners The technological and legal implications of the right to privacy must be understood and addressed by all sectors involved in the debate. We will continue to be engaged in that dialogue.

would like communication to be

EπC \’PT3d

Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab report, 10 hot consumer trends 2015.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

9

conducting business responsibly
10

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Building trust through responsibility
Our solid commitment combined with our culture and core values support our responsible business approach to deliver long-term business benefits.

Conducting business responsibly is the foundation of our com­ mitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility. Integrity, transparency and responsibility characterize the way we conduct business. It is critical to maintaining trust and credibility with c ­ ustomers, partners, employees, shareholders and other
­stakeholders.
Governance framework
Ericsson has Group policies, processes and directives within responsible sourcing, occupational health and safety (OHS), e ­ nvironmental management, anti-corruption and human rights, and other areas. The Ericsson Group Management System includes the Code of Business Ethics, Code of Conduct, OHS
­policy, and Sustainability Policy. We are committed to uphold the
UN Global Compact Principles and to implement the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights throughout our business operations. Under our Global Assessment Program, an external assurance provider audits the implementation of these policies and directives, management of risks and achievement of objectives. Policies are regularly reviewed; several were strengthened in 2014.
Code of Business Ethics
Our Code of Business Ethics sets the tone for how we conduct business globally. It is acknowledged by all employees at the time of employment and repeatedly throughout the term of employment. We have zero tolerance for corruption and bribery, and have set high standards within the areas of responsible sourcing, the environment, occupational health and safety, human rights and labor across our operations.

Strengthened focus on human rights
Ericsson respects all internationally proclaimed human rights and strives to ensure that we are not complicit in human rights abuses.
In 2014, we embedded a stronger human rights focus in our Code of Business Ethics and Code of Conduct (p.12).
The Code of Conduct was strengthened with stronger labor standard protection in accordance with UN and customer requirements, including reference to the process for reporting violations, and requirements on suppliers to report breaches of the Code of Conduct.
All employees are offered online training on sustainability, anti-corruption and other CR issues. About 90,000 employees have taken the anti-corruption training to date, which covers policies and requirements and explores challenges and dilemmas.
In addition, specific training on human rights issues are provided for certain functions where human rights issues are especially r ­ elevant, for example, Sourcing, Security and Legal Affairs.
Top-level commitment
The CEO and senior management actively support the commitment to responsible business and are regularly informed of progress. Sustainability and CR objectives are part of the Ericsson
Group 2014 balanced scorecard. A cross-functional Sustainability and CR Steering Group provides guidance for strategic and operational issues.
The Board of Directors of the Parent Company is briefed twice a year on sustainability and CR matters; more often if needed. In
2014, briefings covered sustainability and CR strategies and risks, performance, internal operations, OHS, environment, human rights challenges, and sales compliance processes and results.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

11

Managing human rights challenges
Many fundamental human rights – such as the right to health, education, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression – are enabled through ICT. At the same time, the Networked Society can also give rise to specific human rights challenges. Recognizing both the opportunities and the challenges, Ericsson is working actively to address human rights.
Spotlight on most salient issues
The new UN Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights Reporting
Framework states that a company’s salient human rights issues are those human rights that are at risk of the most negative impact through the company’s activities or business relationships. Ericsson has defined our salient human rights issues.
These are the right of freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and labor rights.
These are highlighted in the Code of Business Ethics and Code of Conduct. We identify these issues from various input: our own assessment of impacts, external stakeholder views resulting from Human
Rights Impact Assessments in higher-risk environments (p.14), broader stakeholder consultations and industry initiatives. We may identify other human rights issues to be salient over time.
Growing stakeholder concerns point to the need for more transparency, constructive discussion and clear guidance on good corporate conduct and due diligence on human rights and appropriate limits of government control over communication services. More clarity is needed on expectations and responsibility of companies, and what constitutes effective oversight of laws governing interception and surveillance of data to preserve public safety and national security interests (referred to as lawful interception). We held and engaged in several stakeholder consultations during
2014 to address these issues (p.14).
Rising societal concerns
Technology is used by governments to fight crime and to assist in life-saving

12

We engage in stakeholder dialogue in Myanmar, a country undergoing rapid change.

emergencies. Despite the benefits, in some cases it can also be misused to restrict human rights, and can infringe on an individual’s right to privacy.
Concern around surveillance, mining of personal data and cyber-attacks is rising.
It is essential that the right to privacy is p ­ rotected so that users and their data

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

are secure and rights are protected.
Ericsson works to ensure appropriate levels of security in our products, and a range of tools are deployed to ensure security solutions and safeguarding of ­ etwork n operations. This is outlined in the Ericsson white paper, “Guiding Principles for Security in a Networked Society.”

Reporting violations
We recognize the importance of having processes in place to provide or enable remedy in the case of negative human rights impacts related to business activities or relationships. Possible violations of the
Ericsson Code of Business Ethics, including human rights issues, can be reported through our whistleblower procedures pub­ licly available on our website. A transition to a third party-managed whistle­ lower b process is planned for 2015 (p.16).

analysis of Ericsson’s sales compliance process (p.15) highlighted a number of best practices, including escalation of issues, and requiring end user statements as part of all sales that describe approved uses of the product or service to help track products and performance. The authors also called for governments to clarify rules for companies providing technologies which can be used in ways that undermine respect for human rights and to bear in mind their own duty to protect against human rights abuses involving non-state actors such as com­ anies. The report also highlighted the p importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue, an area in which we are deeply engaged.

Human Rights Challenges for
Telecommunications Vendors:
Addressing the Possible Misuse of
Telecommunications Systems
Case Study: Ericsson

Case Study Number 2

Embedding a Human Rights framework
Since 2011, we have been working to integrate the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into our governance framework. Since 2012 we have been active with the Business
Learning Program of the non-profit center for business and human rights, Shift, to embed a human rights framework across the company. Our human rights due diligence covers areas such as Sales, Sourcing and Legal Affairs. In 2014, we reviewed and further strengthened the human rights aspects of our due diligence regarding mergers and acquisitions.
UNGP’s new reporting framework
Ericsson is using the opportunity in this report to start applying the UNGP’s
Reporting Framework, launched in February 2015 as the first comprehensive guidance for companies to report on human rights issues in line with the Guiding Principles. The Framework was developed by
Shift and international accountancy firm
Mazars. We are the first ICT company to apply the framework and also among the first companies to do so overall. We will be building on this year’s experience in our future reporting.
Digital Dangers
Ericsson was the focus of a 2014 case study on human rights by the Institute of
Human Rights and Business (IHRB) in their
“Digital Dangers” series. The study explored challenges facing network vendors, and how they can reduce the risk of misuse of telecommunications systems, and in particular lawful interception systems. The

NOVEMBER 2014

“Ericsson’s due diligence process…points to processes companies can embed into operations to give proper ­ onsideration to c human rights risks,” the study stated.

Viewpoint
The impact of ICT on human rights is generally positive, but its increasing use by governments and business to acquire data creates a complex inter­ relationship. Awareness of the risks associated with information and communications technologies has grown in recent years. The indeterminate period for which data is stored online raises a whole set of issues, particularly for the right to privacy. The implications of these developments are not fully or widely under­ tood. s The ICT sector needs to do more to find a unified response to such challenges, and ideally this should be done in consultation with stakeholders includ­ng civil i society and other experts. Those dialogues are happening, and we are involved in some of them. Ericsson, and other companies in the ICT sector, are well served by having dilemmas around human rights publicly discussed. Companies cannot effectively deal with these issues if they are kept secret or confidential. Ultimately, while companies can institute best practices and due diligence, judicial oversight is crucial. This requires the right regulatory framework with human rights protection at its core.”
John Morrison is the Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Business.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

13

Assessing our HUMAN RIGHTS impact
Ericsson has customers in more than 180 countries, with different cultures, legal systems and other factors impacting society and the business environment. Group policies and directives regarding human rights governance apply to our global operations.
Identifying the issues
We conduct Human Rights Impact
Assessments (HRIA) in accordance with the UNGP as part of our human rights due diligence and to help identify salient human rights issues. The HRIA covers adverse human rights impacts that Ericsson may cause or contribute to, through our own activities, or which may be directly linked to our operations, products or services by our business relationships. The aim is to ensure that we respect human rights within the scope of our business operations and describe the social, operational and human rights context for doing b ­ usiness in the country.
Continued focus on Myanmar
The work with the recommendations from the HRIA in Myanmar has continued during
2014. At the stakeholder consultation conducted in Myanmar during the summer of
2014 one issue raised was labor conditions and safety, particularly in the supply chain. Focus on these issues has been highlighted during 2014, for example, when conducting audits. Several internal processes within Ericsson regarding the right to privacy have also been strengthened during 2014 as one result of the work with the HRIA for Myanmar.
HRIA initiated in Iran
In Iran, where Ericsson has had customers for over 100 years, a HRIA was initiated in
2014. In light of international developments, we are engaging with existing customers, and exploring opportunities with new customers in Iran, while evaluating the human rights situation and continuing to monitor international developments.
Prioritized areas for action identified in the HRIA include:
>> occupational health and safety
>> sourcing and supply chain
­management
>> security
>> trade and sales com­ liance p >> discrimination
We will implement the recommendations from the HRIA into our processes and management systems to ensure continuing attention to addressing and tracking human rights challenges.

14

Ericsson has served customers in Iran for over 100 years.

consulting stakeholders
We support discussions on finding ways to manage emerging dilemmas through greater transparency, collective action and a clear ­ egulatory framework. r The initial results of our HRIA in Myanmar were shared in stakeholder con­ sultations in both Stockholm and Yangon. Stakeholders included investors, the g ­ overnment, customers and local civil society participants. In 2015 stakeholder consultation on the HRIA for Iran took place. The outcome of these stakeholder c ­ onsultations are an important contribution to the final list of identified ­ itigation m measures. The HRIA process is a learning experience for the company that we will continue to build upon, in Iran, Myanmar, and potentially other markets.
Right to privacy focus at Wilton Park
We played a leading role in convening a multi-stakeholder roundtable on ­ rivacy, p security and surveillance with the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) held at ­ trategic forum Wilton Park in the UK. Participants addressed growing s c
­ hallenges and dilemmas around right to privacy, freedom of expression, security and lawful intercept, and finding the appropriate balance between privacy rights, freedom of expression and security. The input from the round­ able discussion t provided vital insight for ­ ricsson’s continued work with human rights. Part of our
E
long-standing collaboration with IHRB was our participation in a 2014 case study on managing human rights ­ ilemmas, ( p.13). d GeSI working group on human rights
Ericsson is also a member of the Global e-Sustainability Initative (GeSI) working group developing an action plan to provide leadership in addressing human rights in the ICT sector. The group is focused on prioritizing action on human rights impacts; applying a human rights lens to emerging technologies and their application; the future of responsible sourcing in the ICT sector, and building capacity in emerging markets.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Due diligence in the sales process
Human rights considerations are an integrated part of Ericsson’s sales process.

Human rights risk management is embedded into our operations through our sales compliance process. This is particularly relevant for the continuing assessment and prevention and mitigation of potential impacts related to freedom of expression and privacy. A Sales Compliance Board, supported by a Sales Compliance Core
Team, governs the process.
The cross-­ unctional, senior-level Sales f Compliance Board represents Legal
Affairs, Trade Compliance, Government and Industry Relations, Sales, Marketing and Communications, Business Units, and
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility. It meets bi-monthly to review cases, in particular those with potentially negative human rights impacts. The Sales Compliance Board may approve with conditions or reject cases, or in specific cases, recom­ mend that human rights impacts assessments for specific countries be conducted.
Gathering broad input
The Sales Compliance Core Team meets bi-­ weekly to review cases, using expertise from several functions and departments to discuss potential impacts and review policies.
The team looks at sales requests, and when necessary, determines what mitigation actions should be undertaken, for example, that implementing staff at the operator must have the right product or service training before a contract is concluded.
Involving different departments helps ensure that any decision considers multiple angles, in order to reduce the risk that
Ericsson’s technology directly or indirectly impacts negatively on human rights.
Criteria for evaluation
Sales that trigger one or more of the following criteria are evaluated in the sales compliance process for human rights risks:
>> Portfolio: This concerns products and services that Ericsson provides that could potentially be used for unintended purposes.
>> Purpose: This concerns understanding the purpose and context in which the product, service or know-how will likely be used.

SALES COMPLIANCE risk methodology
Country

Portfolio

Total risk evaluation Purpose

Customer

>> Customer: This focuses on enhancing our understanding about to whom we sell/deliver. >> Country: This provides insight about the country to which we deliver, based on the risk indices of a global risk a ­ nalytics firm in areas such as human rights risks; corruption; democratic governance; freedom of opinion and expression. Countries requiring extra attention are those under sanctions as well as other countries ranked as a high risk based on a external risk indices. We recognize this is an ongoing process and continuously monitor international developments. Results
In 2014, more than 300 cases were reviewed (see graph). The review and approval process was enhanced, so that while the total number of cases increased in 2014, more cases were approved with conditions. We have procedures for following up on mitigation measures and the decisions that are taken within the sales compliance process.

Sales Compliance Board Review of Cases

319

219
2013

2014

183

214

24

Cases approved with conditions

85

12

Cases approved

Cases rejected

20
Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

15

Anti-corruption a top priority
According to the World Economic
Forum, the cost of corruption equals more than 5% of global GDP
(USD 2.6 trillion). With over USD
1 trillion being paid in bribes each year (World Bank), transnational corruption is a major barrier to
­conducting ­business. Ericsson takes a zero ­ olerance approach t to bribery and ­ orruption. c Corruption hampers investment, undermines legal and democratic systems and increases the costs of doing business.
In response, around the world anti-­ corruption legislation is becoming stricter, enforcement is increasing, and stakeholder expectations for high standards of business integrity are growing. Fair competition and a level playing field are essential to free markets and business must play its part to actively reinforce this throughout the value chain.
With our global operations spanning
180 countries – many with a high risk of corruption according to Transparency
International’s anti-corruption index – staying focused on anti-corruption is important to Ericsson. This is achieved through a combination of risk assessment, a strong anti-corruption program, internal audits

16

and through regularly updated employee and supplier training.
Prevention and accountability
Ericsson continuously assesses corruption risks as part of Group Risk Assessment, in line with strategy and target-setting processes. Headed by the Group’s Chief
Compliance Officer, the anti-corruption compliance program targets both prevention and accountability. The effectiveness and appropriateness of the program is also reviewed and evaluated annually by the
Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
Ericsson has an established process for the selection of suppliers and in general does not use agents, unless required by law or in very restricted circumstances.
Reporting violations
Both employees and third parties may report suspected violations of law or the
Group’s Code of Business Ethics, which is available publicly on the Ericsson website.
Reported violations of law or the Code of Business Ethics are handled centrally by a Group Compliance Forum, supported by a Regional Compliance Forum in each region. We also initiated the transition to a third party-managed whistleblower process, i.e. Ericsson will appoint a third party to whom employees and third parties can report violations. The ­ rocess is planned p to be implemented in 2015.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Towards a culture of integrity
To foster individual accountability, Ericsson employees periodically acknowledge the
Code of Business Ethics and undergo an anti-corruption e-learning course to raise awareness of risks, dilemmas and appropriate courses of action.
By year-end 2014, more than 90,000 of current employees had completed the training. Additional specialized training is provided to key personnel in Sourcing, Sales and other relevant functions, such as regional leadership teams. With regard to suppliers, focus on anti-corruption in self-assessment questionnaires was tightened and a new anti-corruption e-learning for suppliers was launched. At year-end, more than 1,100 employees of suppliers had concluded the training.
Industry commitment
Since 2012, Ericsson has been a member of the World Economic Forum Partnership against ­ orruption Initiative (PACI), aimed
C
at raising business standards and contributing to greater transparency and accountability. Members commit to a set of principles, which includes zero tolerance towards bribery and ­ orruption, the corner­ c stone of Ericsson’s anti-corruption program.

Proactive engagement on responsible sourcing
Responsible sourcing is a top priority for Ericsson. We work towards continuous improvement to ensure our suppliers meet high social, ethical, human rights and environmental standards. Through transparency and engagement, we work to build trust across the value chain from suppliers to customers. Our “beyond monitoring” approach develops our relationship with suppliers across three phases:
“require,” “assess” and “improve.”
>> First, we provide suppliers clarity around our sustainability and CR requirements. >> Second, we evaluate suppliers’ sustainability performance through monitoring and audits. This includes identifying and auditing high-risk suppliers.
>> Third, to ensure continuous improvement, we engage with suppliers through audit follow-up, Code of Conduct seminars and training sessions, and web-based learning.
Setting expectations
Suppliers must comply with the requirements of the Ericsson Code of Conduct which are included in supplier contracts.
The Code of Conduct was updated in
2014 to include stronger human rights language in accordance with the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as international labor standards.
Specifically, maximum working hours are more clearly set out. Another new provision prohibits deduction from wages as a disciplinary measure.
In 2014 we carried out over 30 supplier seminars to raise awareness on our Code of Conduct, Occupational Health and Safety and environmental requirements, and to emphasize the importance of compliance.
Assessing risk
Ericsson uses a risk-based approach to identify relevant suppliers for Code of
C
­ onduct audits. Prioritized risk areas include working at heights, road and vehicle safety, anti-corruption, working hours, labor rights, environmental management, and communication of requirements f ­ urther down the supply chain.

Monitoring performance
In 2014, 595 supplier Code of Conduct audits and on-site assessments were p ­ erformed by Ericsson’s 197 Supplier
Code of Conduct auditors. We view each of our audits as an improvement activity and expect suppliers to address identified findings. Auditors follow up the actions to ensure there is continual improvement in the supply chain.
Year on year, analyses of our audit results demonstrate significant improve-

ments in areas such as better working conditions, fire prevention, training and environmental management. Critical findings among 32 selected high-risk suppliers audited in both 2013–2014 declined
60% (from 18% to 7%). (See graph p.18).
We prefer to use leadership and transparency with suppliers to encourage c ­ ontinuous improvements over time.
H
­ owever, suppliers who repeatedly fail to comply with our Code of Conduct risk being disqualified for further business.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

17

Capacity building
As an important element of our approach, we provide free, online Code of Conduct training to suppliers, offered in 13 languages. In 2014, Ericsson also launched a web-based anti-corruption training for suppliers to reinforce our zero tolerance view on corruption and bribery.

Meeting customer expectations
Our own performance as a supplier is a critical part of our proactive engagement in responsible sourcing. We participate in the yearly Joint Audit Cooperation (JAC)
Forum made up of ten of our largest customers, telecom operators. JAC members conduct Corporate Responsibility audits of

their suppliers, including Ericsson factories and suppliers, and share results. Several
Ericsson and supplier sites have been audited by JAC auditors during the past few years with satisfactory results.

collaborating with supplier a win-win
When a supplier is closely aligned with our strong commitment to find sustainable solutions, collaboration can lead to significant improvements. That is the case with global logistics provider DB Schenker, which worked jointly with local Ericsson teams to address the challenge of transporting products from Ericsson in China to our facilities in Brazil – all while reducing lead time, costs and carbon impact.
By jointly tackling the problem, Ericsson and DB Schenker arrived at a sustainable multi-modal solution combining rail with air freight which reduced CO2 emissions by 47% per 45ft container and cut lead time from 45–50 days by sea freight to 23–25 days with the rail-air combi­ ation. In addition, intermodal air-rail transports developed by n DB Schenker together with Ericsson for our inbound flows to and from Europe and China has led to a 56% reduction in CO2 per 45 ft container. Close and ongoing dialogue with the supplier – central to our
Responsible Sourcing approach – was key to ensuring they understood our requirements and could develop the right solution. In 2014,
Ericsson presented an award to DB Schenker for sustainability excellence, an example of how working together with a supplier can achieve positive outcomes with long-term benefits for Ericsson.
Photo: DB Schenker

Performance of selected ­ uppliers – globally s Type and number of critical and warning findings of selected suppliers
– globally
Employee contract
Local legislation

2013

2014

Benefit and compensation
Forced and bonded labor
Occupational Health and Safety
Physical working environment
Handling of chemicals
Personal Protective Equipment
Records on incidents

17.9%

Critical

7.1%

28.1%

Warning

27.6%

54.0%

Conformity

65.3%
Source: Ericsson

18

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Supply chain
Environmental Management System
0

5

10

Critical Warning

15

20

25

Source: Ericsson

raising transparency on conflict minerals
During 2014 we have taken further steps together with our suppliers to increase transparency regarding conflict minerals in our supply chain, working with our suppliers towards the aim of conflict-free sourcing.
Some of the mineral mines in the eastern part of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been exploited for many years by warlords using illegal trade to finance their activities. The minerals are exported to smelters around the world and after refinement they end up in products in different parts of the world.
Electronic products contain various metals, including tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (“conflict minerals”), which can be found in the eastern part of the DRC. There are several tiers of suppliers between Ericsson and the actual mines which is why collaboration with our suppliers is necessary to achieve our aim to increase transparency in our supply chain.
Industry cooperation
Broad industry cooperation is needed to improve the situation and to achieve the objective of increased supply chain transparency enabling legitimate trade of raw materials that can create a positive impact on the local community. We work actively with our suppliers and through industry initiatives such as the Conflict-Free
Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), driven by the Global e-Sustainability
I
­nitiative (GeSI), and the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition
(EICC). We are also active in the dialogue with policymakers in the
EU and other industry sectors aiming to increase awareness and understanding of conflict minerals.

Our approach
Our approach to conflict minerals is based on four principles.
>> We have made an active choice not to ban minerals from the
DRC. The reason is negative consequences that could result from an embargo of the region.
>> We have worked to incorporate the “OECD Due Diligence
Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from
Conflict-­ ffected and High-Risk Areas” in our existing sourcing
A
practices. Some examples are our public Statement on Conflict
Minerals, contractual clauses in supplier agreements, and the annual conflict minerals reporting. We filed our first Conflict
Minerals Report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2014.
>> We have a goal to trace metals back to the smelters. This is done using the joint industry tool, the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template. The collected information is used as an input to supplier assessments.
>> We are members of the Conflict Free Smelter Initiative which includes the Conflict-Free Smelter Program. This program makes it possible for smelters to become certified by an independent third party audit if the smelter does not source raw materials that contribute to conflict in the DRC. The certification also enables their customers to source metals from smelters and refiners that are certified as conflict free.
Continuous improvements
During 2014, we have taken further steps to increase the trans­ parency regarding conflict minerals in our supply chain. Our focus has been to improve the quality of supplier data. An on­ going ­ hallenge is to obtain sufficiently high-quality supplier data c to enable us to gain reasonable knowledge of the origin of the used minerals, given an extremely complex supply chain.

During 2014 we have taken further steps to increase the transparency regarding conflict minerals in our supply chain.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

19

A strengthened approach to health and safety
Providing a safe and healthy workplace is of fundamental importance to Ericsson. Our ambition is zero incidents and we focus on con­ inuous improvet ments to reduce the number and severity of
Occupational Health and
Safety (OHS) incidents.
The OHS system helps to protect our employees and others engaged in company business. The Ericsson Group Management
System is certified to the OHSAS 18001 standard. Ericsson’s operations undergo internal audits as well as regular third-party assurance audits.
A comprehensive approach
We provide requirements and controls, guidance and training in a comprehensive approach to strengthen OHS performance.
Competence and awareness is key to reducing major incidents and must be based on trust and transparency, to encourage reporting of incidents. Unlike many companies, our approach extends beyond our own operations and includes our supply chain, where we see the greatest risks occurring.
We also significantly strengthened and prioritized the OHS area by integrating it into the Sustainability & CR organization, with higher management visibility, and appointed a new Head of Environment, Health and Safety.
In 2014, 22 workplace fatalities were reported. Of these, one was an Ericsson employee, one was a member of the public
(an accident involving a caretaker in a work zone), and 20 were supply-chain related. These fatalities were reported in three c ­ ategories: 12 driving and vehicle safety; 9 involved climbing and working at heights; and one related to manual handling.

Fatalities
Year to year reporting

Obs! Gjord med column

25
21

20
15

15
11

10
6

5
1

1

2011

0

2012

0

2013

1

2014

Ericsson employees Suppliers, employees, public

20

A challenge for the industry is a lack of design. Prata med common definition and varying legislaEva/Catta/Sanna om ev tion globally on how to classify and frågor. report fatalities in different areas, such as driving vehicles. Ericsson intends to work
Gör så här: Färglägg inte från towards a more standardized framework paletten. Markera staplar med vita for pilen. Välj Object–Graph–Column. a more reporting but currently takes comprehensivefärg och ev tint.
Där väljer man approach. This means that in the future“Sliding” ärexclude some
Kolla särskilt att we may valt på
“Column type”. incidents from numbers currently reported as workplace related.
Type–Options:
1 stapel: 76% 70%
2 staplar: 80% 80%

Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

As a leader in our industry, we support full transparency and accountability in the area of health and safety, and report on and investigate all incidents that we are made aware of, including those relating to supplier operations.
Towards zero incidents
Any workplace fatality is unacceptable and we are taking ­ oncrete c steps to address this. A program “Zero Incidents in High-Risk
Environments” was established in early 2014 to reduce severe incidents in high-risk operations in both Ericsson’s own activities and in the supply chain.
The Zero Incidents program will increase OHS training and awareness of project managers, field service personnel and sub-contractors. It will reinforce governance and global tools, including instructions, check lists, training materials and escalation procedures. If persistent violations occur, the supplier contract may be ended. The Zero Incident program pilot was launched in early 2015 in the Netherlands, India and Egypt, and global rollout will follow later in 2015 and the first half of 2016.

Radio waves and health Ericsson employs rigid product testing and installation procedures with the goal of ensuring that radio wave exposure levels from products and network solutions are below established safety limits. The Company also provides public information on radio waves and health, and supports independent research to further increase knowledge in this area. Since 1996, Ericsson has co-­ sponsored over 100 studies related to electromagnetic fields and health, primarily through the Mobile Manu­ facturers Forum.
To ensure scientific independence, firewalls were in place between the industrial sponsors and the researchers conducting these studies. Independent expert groups and public health authorities, including the World
Health Organization, have reviewed the total amount of research and have consistently concluded that the b ­ alance of evidence does not demonstrate any health effects associated with radio wave exposure from either mobile phones or radio base stations.
In 2014, a new web-based general course on radio waves and health was launched and is available to all
Ericsson employees. A second part of the course, with specific information for employees working in environments where general public limits on electromagnetic exposure may be exceeded, will be launched in the first half of 2015.

Our people – anchored by core values

The commitment of our people is essential to conducting business responsibly and meeting our sustainability and corporate responsibility goals.

Ericsson’s core values
Our values are the foundation of our culture.
They guide us in our daily work, in how we relate to each other and the world around us and in the way we do business.

Professionalism

Respect

Perseverance

Our People Strategy starts with the business direction: to attract and retain the best talent needed to maintain and develop our business. With an engaged, high-performing, and diverse workforce, we are better positioned to meet future challenges. Building on our strengths
Our core values underline who we are, how we do business, and how we behave towards each other, within our teams and with our customers. A key competitive advantage is being able to learn faster than our competitors, which requires a highimpact learning culture. We have a collaborative and constructive environment, where innovation is encouraged, and people have the freedom and support to turn ideas into achievement. We also believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace sparks innovation and creativity, which makes our offerings to our customers more competitive.

People make the difference
Our global scale, technology and services leadership and strong sustainability and corporate responsibility performance depends on our people. Employees are motivated by what Ericsson stands for and they want to work for a company that strives to make a positive impact in the world. Employees are highly engaged in
E
­ ricsson’s success, demonstrated by the results of our annual employee survey with a 93% participation rate. Our engagement index is at 78%, and 89% of employees state they are “proud to work for Ericsson.”
In 2014, as part of the Global Employee
Referral Program, we increased the n ­ umber of referrals by 21%.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

21

Building skills for the Networked Society
In the competitive ICT market, our skills are our major advantage and an investment in our future. As we move into the Networked Society, the rules of business are changing and so are the ways we learn and develop our competencies.
Ericsson aims to be a best-in-class learning organization that enables employees to excel in their careers and contributes to
Ericsson’s market leadership and financial goals. Learning in the Networked Society means driving a learning culture at
E
­ ricsson. This includes both formal and informal learning, collaboration and
­knowledge sharing.
Strategic approach
In order to stay relevant and remain a p ­ ioneer and a thought leader in the
N
­ etworked Society, we need to keep continuous focus on competence. We have a strategic approach to learning, using a two-tier framework.
Top-down, we have a process to identify gaps for strategic competences in relation to a specific position or geography.
We close these targeted gaps through development and deployment of global learning programs. We have structured formal and on-the-job training programs to

build competence in emerging technology areas as well as focus on our sales, services and product development teams.
The bottom-up approach is centered on the individual performance discussion every employee has annually. Employees discuss with their manager how to close competence gaps, and identify learning and competence goals. Identifying competence gaps
In our 2013 report we identified a goal to increase employee technical certifications
30% over levels achieved in 2014. We subsequently determined that this goal is not the best measurement of our investments in building competence. Instead we decided to track key measures such as closure of critical competence gaps, identified through a rigorous annual process working with the business, including both technical and non-technical employee skill gaps. In
2014 we closed over 99% of the identified

A learning organization – 2014 facts and figures

78%
26.7

Share of employees that took formal ­training

Average learning hours per active employee

22

HOURS

Total learning hours:
No. of different courses:

2.7

million

13,000

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

t
­ argeted employee critical competence gaps through training.
Everyday learning model
Our “Everyday Learning” model consists of on-the-job learning, collaboration forums, and formal training. This approach supports various learning styles, which makes development easier for employees. As in all companies, our employees are busy with day-to-day activities and setting aside time for ­earning is always a challenge. l Hence, at Ericsson we aim to mix learning into our daily work by offering activities such as stretch assign­ ents, peer coachm ing, and providing ­ everal online learning s and sharing tools.
Taking learning virtual
We take full advantage of advancements in the Networked Society to develop our employees’ competence. Learning is changing. People learn on the go, and want it at their fingertips. It has moved beyond the traditional classroom towards blended learning, including crowd sourcing, discussion forums, video sharing. We recognize the importance of collaboration and knowledge management and have focused on driving adoption across
­Ericsson.
In 2014, Ericsson Play, a corporate video-­ haring platform, was launched. Our s Learn Channel has 30 dedicated channels featuring over 800 videos. Employees can access Learn@Ericsson Play at any time on their mobile device. The newly launched
Ericsson Virtual Campus also enables our business and technology experts as well as inspirational speakers to share their knowledge and insights live with a large employee base worldwide, via the web, to save time, energy and travel costs. These new delivery channels are complements to our online Learning Portal.

Committed to DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION
A diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to Ericsson’s future success. Diversity not only drives a high-performing team and strongbusiness results, it also enhances employee motivation, and helps attract and retain top talent.
In an increasingly global market, diversity helps us better respond to the needs of our customers and tap into greater innovation. Diversity and inclusion are also of great concern to our stakeholders and to society at large – a trend we expect to continue. We engage in a wide variety of initiatives related to gender diversity, both within the company, and to contribute to the global debate on these issues.
The diversity of our employees is one of our major strengths as a business. It is this collective mixture of individuals, cultures and organizational experiences that drives creativity, makes us stand out from the competition and delivers great results for our customers.
Diversity spurs innovation
Diversity has been high on Ericsson’s agenda for many years and we believe

diverse teams are the best teams. They are high-performing and innovative, with a variety of perspectives, experiences and references, which spurs creativity.
We believe that achieving success in an increasingly multi-faceted, global and competitive market requires tapping into a broad talent pool in which diversity is a central component. Our definition of diversity extends beyond gender, race, religion, ethnicity, age and other established parameters to focus on ­ iversity of thought d which is a driver of innovation. We are committed to increasing diversity and inclusion at Ericsson, and have made progress, but when it comes to gender diversity, we are not where we want to be. Gender diversity in focus
Gender diversity is a key focus of our approach. In order to accelerate progress towards better gender balance, we have set a goal that by 2020 women will make up 30 percent of our employee population.
In 2014, 22% of Ericsson employees were female. See gender-related data, p. 25.
Our diversity strategy and supportive framework are geared at putting the right processes in place, raising awareness and encouraging open dialogue among employees. We measure progress through

a diversity dashboard, in which a wide range of diversity statistics are gathered.
Key figures are shared externally on the ericsson.com Diversity and Inclusion web page.
Progress in embedding diversity
A Global Diversity and Inclusion Council made up of senior business leaders drives the strategy. In addition, we are working hard to embed diversity into human resource processes such as talent acquisition and talent management.
Mentoring is used to promote gender diversity: all members of the Executive
Leadership Team mentor a high-potential female in the organization. We have also created mentoring circles in some of our regional operations.
Women in Leadership is an Ericsson employee network spanning Ericsson operations in several countries and regions worldwide. It helps participants achieve their career goals with the help of mentoring, networking and engagement. Members drive internal events, collaborate with local organizations and universities and promote relevant external events.

signing the UN pledge
As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including gender equality, male employees are being encouraged to sign the United
Nation’s HeForShe pledge. The HeForShe campaign, organized by UN
Women – the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women – focuses on what men can do to address the inequalities and discrimination faced by women.
Since its launch in September 2014, thousands of men around the world have supported the campaign including US President Barack Obama and
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. At Ericsson, male employees are asked to sign a simple pledge that they are committed to gender equality.
Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg has signed the pledge, and all of Ericsson’s male staff members are urged to do the same.
The campaign states: “When women are empowered, the whole of humanity benefits. Gender equality liberates not only women but also men, from prescribed social roles and gender stereotypes.”
Right: Valter D’Avino, Head of Ericsson Region Western and Central Europe, and Head of
Ericsson’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, supports the HeforShe campaign.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

23

168 nationalities are represented in Ericsson’s workforce.
Celebrating differences
In 2014, we celebrated our first Diversity
Awareness Month, addressing issues from sexual orientation to physical ability, cultural issues and gender. Ericsson celebrated International Women’s Day at the global level for the first time in 2014. We held over 25 activities across the world and we produced more than 30 video portraits highlighting “Ericsson’s outstanding
­
women.” We also hosted our first Global
Gender Conference, attended by men and women. Attendees were empowered to bring the gender discussion to their own locations to raise awareness and they c ­ reated activities at the local level.
Recognizing unconscious biases
Research confirms that we all harbor unconscious biases that are a result of life experiences, culture, background, and exposure. Biases influence decision m ­ aking and can affect perceptions and behavior towards others. One of the ways in which we are furthering a constructive dialogue on inclusion is by raising awareness of unconscious bias. Our aim is to reach the entire employee population in the next three years. Face-to-face training is slated for business leaders and e-learning for the workforce, with a target to reach
30% of each group during 2015.
The objective of the course for leaders:
>> Raise awareness about diversity and inclusion >> Initiate a culture of constructive dialogue around diversity and inclusion
>> Learn about unconscious bias and impact on decision making

>> Increase awareness of techniques which can help overcome unconscious bias
>> Identify one opportunity for driving change Supporting women in technology
Ericsson participates in various external diversity initiatives. A central focus is encouraging more women to join the male-dominated technology industry.
We support TechWomen, which empowers and connects next-generation women leaders from Africa and the Middle
East in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing access and opportunities for career advancement. We are a founding partner of WomenUp, a leadership development program for high-potential women under the umbrella

Employees by age and gender 2014

Obs! Gjord med column
30
design. Prata med
25
Eva/Catta/Sanna om ev frågor. 20

35,000
30,000
25,000

29

22
19

20

Gör så här: Färglägg inte från
15
paletten. Markera staplar med vita pilen. Välj Object–Graph–Column.
10
Där väljer man färg och ev tint.
Kolla särskilt att “Sliding” är valt på
5
“Column type”.

20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
Under 25

26–35

Male Female

24

Global outreach
Ericsson collaborates with the Broadband
Commission for Digital Development
Working Group on Gender and Broadband in a mission to promote women in ICT.
The Ericsson global education initiative
Connect To Learn (p. 44) promotes access to secondary school education for girls around the world.

Female representation, %

40,000

0

of Hillary Clinton’s International Council on Women’s Business Leadership.
We also participate in Introduce a Girl to
Engineering. The fifth annual “Girls in ICT
Day” at Ericsson in 2014 included seminars, workshops, campus visits and a speech by former US First Lady Laura
Bush. The aim is to encourage girls and young women to consider careers in ICT.

36–45

46–55

Over 55
Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

0
Type–Options: 2010
2011
2012
1 stapel: 76% 70%
2 staplar: 80% 80% workforce Overall Line managers
3 staplar: 70% 70% Executive Leadership Team

Obs! G design Eva/Ca frågor. Gör så hä paletten. pilen. Väl
Där välje
Kolla särs
“Column
2013

2014

Executive (Top 250 positions)
Source: Ericsson

Type–Op
1 stapel:
2 staplar:
3 staplar:

facts and figures
Employees
No.
Year end
Average
Temporary employees
Employees who have left Ericsson
Employees who have joined Ericsson

Occupational health and safety
2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

118,055
117,156
776

114,340
116,630
493

110,255
112,758
766

104,525
103,130
901

90,261
91,825
978

15,536

13,025

12,280

10,571

10,066

19,251

17,110

18,010

24,835

17,834

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

78

77

77

77

–

89

89

88

89

–

81

80

80

80

–

Engagement index
Proud to say that I work for Ericsson
Extremely satisfied with
Ericsson as a place to work
Recommend Ericsson as a great place to work
Response rate

78
93

77
93

77
94

78
90

–
–

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

54

48

55

50

50

29

29

29

29

36

Diversity – Background
%
Executives with a background other than Swedish
(Top 250 positions)
Executives with a background other than Swedish
(Executive Leadership Team)

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

22
19

21
18

22
18

22
18

22
18

20
29

19
29

18
29

15
29

14
14

Overall workforce
Line manager
Executive
(Top 250 positions)
Executive Leadership Team

Diversity – Age and gender 2014
No.
Female
Male

2013

2012

2011

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2014

2013

2012

2011

25
0
12
2
8
0
2
1
0
0
0

29
0
16
4
2
0
0
0
5
0
2

20
0
19
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

2013

2012

Total
North America
Latin America
Northern Europe & Central Asia
Western & Central Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
China & North East Asia
South East Asia & Oceania

Major incidents (Ericsson employees)
Total
North America
Latin America
Northern Europe & Central Asia
Western & Central Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
China & North East Asia
South East Asia & Oceania

20 a)
0
19 a)
0
0
0
0
0
0
1a)
0

Fatalities (Supply chain and others)

Diversity – Female representation
%

2014

2014

Satisfaction
%

Fatalities (Ericsson employees)

Under 25

25–35

36–45

46–55

Over 55

2,680
2,683

9,557
36,316

7,777
30,062

4,410
18,072

1,399
5,099

Total
North America
Latin America
Northern Europe & Central Asia
Western & Central Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
China & North East Asia
South East Asia & Oceania
a) Data

21
2
5
0
0
1
5
1
6
0
1

15 b)
2
0
1
2
1
7 b)
0
0
1
1

6
0
1
0
1
1
2
1
0
0
0

2011
11a)
0
8 a)
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
0

revised in 2014. reported in 2014.

b) Fatalities

Responsible sourcing

Major incidents (Supply chain and others)

Audits and assessments

Total
North America
Latin America
Northern Europe & Central Asia
Western & Central Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
China & North East Asia
South East Asia & Oceania

2014

2014
Auditors
Audits
Assessments

2013

2012

2011

2010

197
444
151

195
479
144

179
494
152

170
392
270

150
550
218

a) Data

2013

2012

2011

44
4
13
1
0
1
7
1
16
0
1

35
2
11
2
2
1
9
1
2
4
1

78
1
40
10
5
2
5
7
2
4
2

11
0
7
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0

revised in 2014.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

25

Energy, environment and climate
CHange

26

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE, ICT
ENABLES TRANSFORMATION
Our strategy is to maximize the energy performance of our products and solutions, reduce the carbon footprint of our own activities, and drive the transformation that enables a low-carbon economy.
Ericsson takes a life-cycle approach to environmental management that includes raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, use, disassembly and end-oflife management. We focus on the following three areas:
>> Reducing our own environmental impacts, >> Reducing environmental impacts from our products and solutions in operation,
>> Advocating and enabling ICT solutions for a low-carbon economy.
Our life-cycle assessments consistently confirm that Ericsson’s most significant environmental impact is the energy used by our products in operation. O ur main aim is to maximize the energy performance of our products, services and solutions to help customers optimize their networks
(p. 30). We also seek to reduce the carbon footprint of our own activities (p. 34).
The ICT sector footprint
The ICT sector is responsible for about
1.3% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the Ericsson
Energy and Carbon Report (2014), which looks at the ICT sector’s own environmental impact in terms of electricity use and
GHG emissions. It also includes an update of our 2020 forecast for the sector’s GHG emissions. Even with the expected dramatic growth in mobile subscriptions, the total
ICT impact is expected to account for no more than 2% of the total GHG emissions in 2020. This is largely due to advances in technology, and industry-wide efforts to reduce energy consumption.
However, in absolute terms the emission levels from ICT are still considerable and must be addressed. We prioritize energy performance throughout the network to identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions of mobile networks.

tor brings with it a range of environmental challenges, we see huge potential for the
ICT sector to provide solutions that reduce global GHG emissions in other sectors. In fact, our research shows that the use of
ICT has the potential to reduce global GHG emissions by approximately one sixth.
ICT solutions help other sectors of society to reduce GHG through dematerialization of physical products and systems, for example, substituting travel with collaborative tools or substituting the need to produce physical products by delivering e-products and services. Energy can be generated, distributed and consumed more efficiently through smart grids and smart meters. ICT can also unlock efficiency gains in buildings, transportation, and logistics.
Ericsson carbon footprint 2014
Mtonnes CO2e

Activities in 2014 Supply chain Own activities

˜ 35

35
30
25

Future (lifetime) operation of products delivered in 2014 Operator activities  roducts in operation
P
End-of-life treatment Approximately

20
15
10
5
0

˜3

˜ 0.8

˜5

˜

Source: Ericsson

˜ – 0.3

–5

Energy and Carbon Report
ERICSSON
ENERGY AND
CARBON
REPORT
INCLUDING RESULTS FROM THE FIRSTEVER NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ICT

November 2014

The ICT enablement effect
While the continued growth of the ICT sec-

Measuring the impact
In 2014, we strengthened our focus on providing solutions to help other sectors of the economy, primarily utilities and transport, to offset carbon emissions. In line with this focus area, we set a target for
2015: to reduce societal carbon emissions by a factor of 2 in relation to carbon emissions from Ericsson’s own activities in
2014, by implementing ICT-enabled solutions, such as smart meters and smart transport solutions.

The Ericsson Energy and Carbon Report 2014 focuses on the ICT sector’s own environmental impact in terms of electricity use and GHG emissions.
It also includes an update of our 2020 forecast for
GHG emissions of ICT; the first-ever national assessment of the total GHG emissions attributable to the
ICT sector, and a detailed study of the life-cycle impact of a smartphone. The research is a collaboration between Ericsson, telecom operator TeliaSonera, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Sony.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

27

Smart street lighting
Ericsson Zero Site portfolio are smart encapsulated street furniture solutions.
The lamp post solution is developed in co-operation with Philips to offer city officials an innovative way to support energy efficient LED lighting to meet sustainability goals, and enables network operators to offer improved city-wide mobile broadband and app coverage. This street site solution is designed to be deployed in just a few hours in a city environment.

28

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Assessing ICT sector carbon footprint
Accommodating growth in the ICT sector while enabling a low-carbon economy was the focus of new research by Ericsson in 2014, including the first-ever national assessment of the life-cycle e ­ nvironmental impact of ICT.
By 2020, global mobile subscriptions will reach 9.5 billion, according to the November 2014 Ericsson Mobility Report. Mobile data traffic is expected to increase annually about 40% and will grow eight-fold by
2020, driven by mobile broadband, cloud services and new devices. This places huge capacity demands on tomorrow’s networks. Data growth marginal impact
On a global basis the global GHG per subscriber for ICT are estimated to decrease from ~110 in 2007 to ~72 in 2020, as shown in the graph. It is also expected that individual users will have more subscriptions and devices in the future.
Interestingly, the rapid increase in data capacity is not having a significant impact on the overall carbon footprint of the ICT sector. Estimates indicate GHG emissions per amount of fixed data transmitted will decrease from nearly 6 kg CO2e/GB in
2007 to about 0.25 kg CO2e/GB in 2020.
For mobile data, the estimated decrease is even greater, from about 100 kg CO2e/GB to about 0.5 kg CO2e/GB during the same period. In mobile networks, there was roughly 8 times more data than voice traffic during 2014, and by 2020 there will be in the magnitude of 30 times more data than voice traffic.
First-ever national assessment of ICT footprint
In 2014, the first-ever national-level study of the life-cycle environmental impact of ICT was published together with TeliaSonera and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in
Stockholm. This unique study for Sweden is based on available statistical data from 2010.
The total GHG emissions due to the ICT sector in Sweden amounted to

approximately 1.5 Mtonnes CO2e in 2010.
This corresponds to 1.2% of total Swedish
GHG emissions.
The main electricity-consuming categories were user PCs, data centers (servers) and other user equipment. These areas also offer the larg­ st potential for reducing e electricity consumption.
When applying a global average electricity mix to the ICT model for Sweden, the relationship between the manufacturing and use stage changes considerably for all parts, (see graph). The electricity mix is used for calculating CO2 impact based on distribution of energy sources used to p ­ roduce the electricity in an area.
In our study, annual GHG emissions for an average Swedish subscription, recalcu-

lated with global electricity mix, ranges from 34 kg CO2e for 2G mobile communications up to about 560 kg CO2e for a fixed (xDSL) broadband subscription or a workplace (LAN) PC. The relatively large impact for fixed subscription is linked to the average subscriber having a greater number of user equipment connected to the fixed network. These devices are on average physically larger compared to mobile user equipment. Fixed ICT networks carry the majority of the transmitted data, with a larger share of GHG emissions being allocated from data centers.

Graph 1: GHG emissions per subscribers outlook kg CO2e/subscriber

Obs! Gjord med column design. Prata med
Eva/Catta/Sanna om ev frågor. 250
200
150

Gör så här: Färglägg inte från paletten. Markera staplar med vita pilen. Välj Object–Graph–Column.
Där väljer man färg och ev tint.
Kolla särskilt att “Sliding” är valt på
“Column type”. Fixed ICT sub

100
50
0

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Source: Ericsson

Average ICT sub
Type–Options:
Mobile ICT sub
1 stapel: 76% 70%
2 staplar: 80% 80%
3 staplar: 70% 70%

Graph 2: Annual GHG emissions for different average ICT subscriptions in Sweden 2010
– global electricity mix in the use stage kg CO2e
2G mobile communications
Broadband telephony
3G mobile broadband
Classic telephony
IPTV (high scenario)
Fixed DSL broadband
Office LAN
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Use (electricity consumption) Use (other energy) Manufacturing (embodied)

Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

29

RETHINKING energy performance
With our strategy to lead our sector in network energy performance,
Ericsson has taken a systematic approach for energy performance that will reduce energy consumption while increasing app coverage.
Energy efficiency has become a key p ­ riority for the telecom industry as mobile network operators are increasingly c ­ hallenged by the need to build energy-­ efficient networks as well as deliver high performance. Reducing energy consumption makes good business sense, satisfies regulatory needs and contributes to reducing environmental impact.
Generation shift brings efficiency
The new Ericsson Radio System is a modular approach to build and expand mobile networks. It represents a generational shift. The energy-efficient Ericsson Radio
System is designed to handle the mobile data traffic increases expected by 2020.
The system is half the size and weight and delivers twice the capacity. It enables operators to capitalize on growing mobile broadband demand from consumers, businesses and the Internet of Things to build their business as they evolve to 5th generation mobile systems.

A holistic approach
In a mobile network, the radio access n ­ etwork (RAN) is the largest consumer of energy, and is therefore where most energy­ efficiency improvements are focused. However, addressing the total cost of energy of a network covers more than reducing energy consumption of radio base stations. It requires a holistic approach to address all aspects, from nodes to sites to network.

ware upgrades. Network capacity can be increased by staying current with the latest software release, without adding new hardware.
>> New hardware platforms that support multi-standard, multi-band are more energy efficient and future proof. The radio unit from Ericsson Radio System provides a 50% improvement in energy efficiency. Ericsson Radio System was launched during 2015.

Address the installed base
Improving radio network energy performance involves more than replacing old equipment with new, more energy-efficient hardware. Much can be gained, for example, by deploying energy-saving software features to the installed base. Whenever new radio technology is added, existing generations remain. Solutions must therefore address all generations of technology;
>> From always on to always available, there are many RAN-specific energy-­ saving features for 2G, 3G, 4G, giving operator the potential to reduce energy consumption in existing radio equipment up to 25%. For example BCCH
Power Saving (GSM), see ­ urkcell case;
T
Traffic Aware Power Saving (WCDMA) and Micro Sleep Tx (LTE).
>> Prolong capacity life-cycle. An energy­ efficient network can deliver needed capacity for a long time based on flexible capacity growth rather than hard-

Build with precision
From our global installed base Ericsson offers insights into traffic and network reality, enabling operators to understand how traffic is distributed. Over-dimensioning does not always result in performance gains. Instead, it more often leads to increased OPEX, higher energy consumption, and inflated capital expenditures – all of which impact the total cost of ownership. In one trial, energy consumption of a deployment with traditional, large-capacity radio base stations was compared with that of a more precisely matched mix of solutions. Results showed that with this approach, it is possible to reduce energy consumption by 40%.
The different site capacity demands need to be matched with different variants of baseband and radio products, optimized for each of the desired traffic segments.
Ericsson’s unique Psi Coverage is one solution that has enabled accelerated

efficiency gain for Turkcell
Turkcell, the leading mobile operator in Turkey, required a more efficient way to operate its network and to build in more capacity for increased mobile traffic while keeping energy costs under control. By deploying Ericsson’s energy-efficiency software feature BCCH
(Broadcast Control Channel) Power Saving, Turkcell managed to reduce energy consumption in GSM networks and improve network performance. The solution, designed to save power in GSM networks, regulates the power level of time slots in the BCCH carrier while maintaining network quality. The feature aims to save energy by down-regulating the time slots (except for TS0) at BCCH TRX (transceiver). Turkcell has deployed this feature for the entire network. It has not only reduced power consumption but improved network performance. The monthly average energy consumption per site decreased by 86.8 kWh, which resulted in a 6% reduction of total energy consumption yearly for Turkcell.

30

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

deployment of 3G coverage and improved user experience, while providing significant energy and cost savings compared to traditional solutions. Successfully deployed in supporting 3G coverage globally, the Psi
Coverage solution will during 2015 also be launched for 4G networks. (See Croatia case below.)
Optimize on site
One way in which we help operators solve challenges on-site is through Remote Site
Management. This assists operators to control site expansion by adding intelligence that manages energy consumption within limits. It provides continuous information of energy source which helps control and compare energy consumption at all sites. The remote Hybrid Control Management ensures an optimized usage of ­ iesel d generators, ­ atteries, solar power, wind b turbine, fuel cells, etc. The battery life is also prolonged through battery management which helps avoide unnecessary replacements. Reduced energy despite demand
By implementing a systematic approach to energy performance, it is possible for network operators to cover the forecasted eight-fold growth in mobile ­ raffic between t 2014 and 2020 with reduced energy consumption.
Leveraging small cells deployment
In some environments – such as certain stadiums, busy streets and multi-story office blocks, small cells provide a complement to macro cells in meeting user demands. Indoor environments pose special challenges for service providers. When small cells are implemented correctly, it has the potential to both improve performance and to reduce energy consumption.
Small-cell designs can enhance user performance while reducing total network energy consumption compared with a pure macro network. When small-cell nodes are added to a highly loaded macro network, energy consumption typically increases, as more equipment is added to the network, but capacity also increases. If placed correctly, small nodes can provide users with better performance than the macro node. This means that higher data rates are possible with less trans­mission energy.
Global services reach
We work with our customers to determine the optimal approach to maximize energy performance and support future traffic growth. This includes an assessment phase: to understand current energy consumption, set tailored KPIs, predict future

for remote areas, exploring new approaches
In a project funded by the European Union (EU), Ericsson and partners are exploring how fuel cell tech­ ology can power off-grid telecom stations. With growing n penetration of mobile services, the number of remotely located radio base stations
(RBS) is on the rise. Unable to connect to the electricity grid, they rely instead on batteries and diesel generators that can generate substantial carbon emissions.
FCpoweredRBS, led by Ericsson, is a large-scale demonstration activity in collaboration with the EU Joint Research Centre, and includes mobile operator Telecom
Italia and 3 Italia. The project looks at the viability of fuel cells and other types of alternative energy supply as an alternative to standard power sources. A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction.
Integrated solution
In ongoing field trials, the power supply of several radio base stations is replaced with a new energy supply based on a solution that integrates different components (fuel cells, photovoltaics and batteries). The goal is increased energy efficiency and improved total cost of ownership. Results show that the amount of unattended hours can be increased, thanks to efficient use of the alternative energy sources and the storage potential of hydrogen. This means lower operational costs and positive impact on the environment for the operator.
Alternative energy sources are selected based on local conditions such as weather conditions, time of day, battery load, and hydrogen. Electrolyzers contri­ bute to generating hydrogen locally, with the aim of making the radio site energy-­ independent in the longer term.
Final project results are expected during 2015.

Psi coverage solution deployed on Croatia’s coast
Mobile operator Vipnet partnered with Ericsson to expand 3G coverage on
C
­ roatia’s coastline. Vipnet required a low-power solution for their solar-powered sites. Tested on 20 sites, it was confirmed that the Psi Coverage solution offers up to 50% lower power consumption compared to alternatives, without compromising network coverage and performance. During 2014 the Psi Coverage solution was deployed in 16 networks across 14 countries and included customers such as Robi-Bangladesh, Millicom Ghana, Turkcell Turkey and Telin East Timor.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

31

trends and propose realistic actions to reduce network energy ­ onsumption. c To further optimize performance, together with the operator, we look at different ways to deploy, expand, restructure, upgrade, or migrate communications n ­ etworks. We also explore implementing energy-savings software and other features. Such solutions apply to building a new network, or expanding an ­ xisting one. e We also offer the option to operate network and energy-related infrastructure on behalf of operators. Our aim is to help operators reduce energy consumption, maximize efficiency, and improve network availability. Currently, about 240 million subscribers are served by networks for which Ericsson provides Energy Management, as part of
Managed Services contracts. The service includes around-the-clock, real-time monitoring of infrastructure and remote and on-site problem resolution for all, whether or not they are connected to utility grids, along with ongoing energy-­ elated opti­ r mization to ensure energy is consumed in the most efficient manner.
Partnering for greater reach
As a complement to Ericsson’s end-toend service portfolio Ericsson has partnered with the GSMA, the mobile industry association, on its Mobile Energy Efficiency Optimization Service. The service undertakes site audits and equipment t ­ rials, analyses the costs and benefits of specific actions to reduce energy and emissions, and then works to implement

the most attractive solutions. This follows on from the GSMA Mobile Energy Efficiency
Benchmarking Service in which more than 40 mobile network operators have participated, accounting for more than
200 networks and over half of global mobile subscribers.
Virtualized data center
Data centers are important assets to deliver IT services, both for internal and for external use for most enterprises, including operators. They are often used to realize a cloud environment where many applications and users can share resources in terms of computing, storage and network.
Sharing resources between a number of applications and users enables a better utilization, resulting in less overall need of energy-consuming hardware. For example, some applications are used more during the day; others more often at night.
Cloud technology is therefore positive for energy efficiency. An example from the telecom world with a European mobile operator shows that 60% energy reduction was achieved when six locations for support solutions were consolidated into two, while still delivering the same capabilities.
Ericsson’s data center offering has a number of capabilities contributing to more energy-efficient solutions. By using the latest generation of processors, it is possible to increase system capacity by 20 to 80% without any increase in power consumption. One example of an Ericsson solution enabling virtualization and cloud deployments is the Ericsson Blade Server

RETHINK ENERGY PERFORMANCE

App coverage

Nodes

Sites

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

5G energy performance
Ericsson is playing a leading role in development of next-generation 5G mobile communication systems, where key requirements and early concept development are now underway. A new generation of mobile communications technology is a unique possibility to introduce new requirements and related capabilities.
Energy performance, aiming at reduced network energy consumption, is one of the new key requirements for 5G.
First-round 5G research projects include the EU-funded METIS 1) and 5GrEEn 2).
Standardization-related activities are expected to start in 3GPP 3) during 2016.
Energy performance in previous generations such as 2G, 3G, and 4G is focused on moving from “always-on” to “always-­ available” network operation. 5G offers the potential to take the next step to “always-­ optimized.” Networks today, and in the future, will have to cope not only with high traffic loads and coverage demands but also with large traffic variations and low average load. This calls for sufficient sleep mode possibilities to optimize energy p ­ erformance. Key means to achieve this are advanced antenna techniques and ultra-lean transmission 4).

What is 5G?
Among other things, 5G includes:
>> 1000x higher mobile data volume
>> 10 to 100x more connected devices
>> 10 to 100x higher use data rates

1)

Networks
Energy

32

Platform (BSP) 8000, a family of blade servers (electronic circuit boards containing microprocessors and memory) used in telecom nodes. By introducing Blade
Server Platform 8100 the power consumption will improve, compared to earlier hardware configurations, as 20 to 200% more subscribers can be handled with the same power consumption.

Source: METIS

METIS - Mobile and wireless communications Enablers for the Twenty-twenty Information Society. EU-funded research project 2012–2015.
2) 5GrEEn – Towards Green 5G Mobile Networks. EIT ICT Labs funded research project 2013–2014.
3) The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) unites seven telecommunications standard development organizations.
4) 5G Energy Performance – Key Technologies and Design
Principles.

Handling e-waste responsibly The key material streams Ericsson deals with are ferrous metals, precious metals and plastics. The majority of these materials eventually re-enter the commodities market where they are sold to industry as raw materials.

Operators Airtel and MTN have partnered with Ericsson to help with the disposal and recycling of electronic waste in Africa.

We provide product take-back s ­ ervices to our customers globally as part of our Extended Producer
Responsibility.
According to UN StEP (Solving the global
E-Waste Problem), by 2017 global e-waste will reach 65.4 million tonnes, one-third higher than in 2012.
The European Union (EU) Waste from
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) Directive has been in force since
2005. However, we apply our proactive approach globally to address the risks associated with WEEE. These risks include improper handling and treatment, transport, emissions, and human health risks.
We conduct product take-back with recycling partners that meet our requirements, and are certified according to internationally recognized environmental and recycling standards.
World-wide free of charge
Our program is available free of charge to our customers globally, not only in markets

required by law. For example, in 2014, customers Airtel Ghana and MTN Africa both took advantage of the program. Ghana has one of the largest e-­ aste dump sites w in the world. Airtel has partnered with
Ericsson to help with the dis­ osal and p recycling of electronic waste in Ghana, including telecom equipment from their networks at end of product life.
We continue working closely with our customers to ensure their e-waste is handled and treated in an environmentally sound manner. Ericsson’s ecology management program has, since its start in
2005, taken back e-waste from more than 107 countries.
Increased take-back
When we take back our products, we recycle more than 98% of the materials.
We continue to expand our ecology management program involving more countries and increasing take-back volumes for our customers. Product take-back and recycling levels have increased significantly, from 9,800 tonnes in 2013 to
15,900 tonnes in 2014.

Revised target
Collection levels were below the 2014 target commitment level of 17% take-back, especially in non-legislated (i.e. non-EU) markets. We believe that this target was overly optimistic and have therefore reduced the target for 2015 to a global commitment average of 9%. We are also in the process of revising our requirements concerning our ways of working and our internal processes in this area. Company-wide training is also being prepared.
We believe these changes will have a positive impact on achieving the 2015 target and enable us to substantially increase the target from 2016 and onwards.
Further, in order to address these challenges, we have initiated a campaign to raise awareness and engagement among our sales staff, as well as customers. For example, Ericsson is working jointly with customer MTN Benin in an e-waste project to take back telecom e-waste as well as mobile phones, personal computers and other household e-waste.

Take back process – treated
%

Obs! Gjord med column
Prata med Eva/Catta/Sa ev frågor.

100
80
60
40
20
0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Gör så här: Markera skiktade de vita pilen. Välj Object–Graph–C
Där väljer man färg som ska var översta rundade delen. Kolla sä
“Sliding” är valt på “Column typ alla delar med rundad topp – in
De nedre markeras då med vita
Column väljer man “none” och f som vanligt från paletten swatc

Recycled Energy Reuse Landfill
Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

33

Improving performance of our own operations
Our aim is to reduce our carbon footprint from direct operations while improving productivity and achieving a cost-benefit balance.
Improving the sustainability performance of our own operations comprises four focus areas:
>> reducing energy use in facilities (offices, production sites, data centers and test labs) and prioritizing purchase of green certified energy;
>> shifting to low-carbon product transport, from air freight to ­ urface shipping; s >> reducing business travel by increasing use of video-­ conferencing and other collaborative work tools; and
>> reducing fuel used in fleet vehicles.
In 2012 Ericsson set an objective to maintain absolute CO2e emissions from business travel, product transport and facilities at 2011 levels up to 2017. This equates to a reduction of 30% CO2e per employee. For 2014, the reduction was 10% CO2e per employee.
Facility energy use
To reduce our facilities’ energy use, we work to improve the efficiency usage of our buildings by enhancing workplace functionality; shift to more energy-efficient buildings and implement Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building requirements, level Gold, or the equivalent in other green building standards. During 2014 the green building-rated area was maintained at around 10%; however, the green electric power increased in 2014 to 39% compared to 35% at year-end 2013. With an improved reporting process in 2014, close to 80% of our real estate portfolio is now covered in an energy assessment. More flexible ways of working, including “free seating,” teamwork work-spaces and greater use of video-conferencing contributed to a smaller carbon footprint. In 2014, facilities’ energy usage was around 230
Ktonnes CO2e. In Sweden, we have had 100% green-certified e ­ lectricity since 2008.

Ericsson own activities Carbon footprint intensity target
Tonnes CO2e/Employee Mtonnes
10

1.0

8

0.8
0.63

6

0.6
5.43

4

0.4

2

0.2

0

2011

34

2012

2013

2014

0.0

 arbon footprint intensity
C
Tonnes CO2e/Employee  arbon footprint absolute
C
emission, Mtonnes
Source: Ericsson

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Product transportation
In 2014, we continued our work of shifting from air to surface transport to reduce CO2 emissions. Product volumes transported were comparable to 2013 which shows that we have reduced the transport distances, mainly within air transport. We have achieved a reduction of 25 kTonnes CO2e in absolute terms.
Business travel
In 2014, business travel emissions were up around 8% per employee. However, emissions from business travel declined by
10% per employee, compared to the 2011 baseline. Video con­ ferencing tools such as Ericsson Visual Communication are p ­ romoted as a substitute to travel.
Fleet vehicles
Growth in Managed Services puts focus on our vehicle fleet. We are targeting to reduce CO2e/km in our vehicle fleet by purchasing more efficient vehicles, implementing telematics, and trialing alternative renewable fuels. A telematics pilot rolled out to more than
1,500 vehicles allowed Ericsson to monitor attributes of vehicle operations, performance, location and velocity. This has resulted in over 5% increased fuel economy.

Global ICT Centers save energy
In 2014, Ericson opened its first Global ICT Center, located in
Linköping, Sweden. This is the first of three high-tech, Global
ICT Centers, which will house the company’s complete portfolio. Using the latest cloud technology, the center enables Ericsson’s 25,000 R&D engineers to collaborate beyond ­ orders b more easily and efficiently, bringing innovation faster to market.
Two will be located in Sweden; one in Quebec, Canada.
Currently, Ericsson has test labs and data centers located in various countries around the world. The strategy is to consolidate most of these within the new Global ICT Centers, which are placed in areas with access to renewable energy and a reliable power grid. The centers will also significantly reduce our carbon footprint by using green certified power according to the Swedish Green Energy system “Good Environmental
Choice.”
The three ICT Centers combined will be up to 120,000 square meters – approximately the size of 14 football fields.
They will feature leading-edge design, with modular, scalable and efficient use of resources and space adaptable to business needs. Ericsson estimates that the combined architecture, design and location solution will reduce energy consumption up to 40% – another step towards Ericsson’s vision of a more sustainable future.

facts and figures
Consumption

Emissions (CO2e)

Energy consumption (facilities energy use) (GWh)

Ericsson own activities (direct and indirect) (kTonne)

2014

2012

2011

2010

761
36
89

845
47
96

808
56
121

830
60
130

650
93
100

Air travel
Road travel
Fleet vehicles
Commuting

2013

2012

2011

2010

1,392
113
411
438

1,320
77
390
430

1,200
74
339
415

1,400
129
–
375

1,250
90
–
300

Product transportation (Mtonnekm)
2014
Air transport
Road transport
Sea transport
Rail transport

2013

2012

2011

2010

274
280
276
6

294
264
309
5

452
372
338
53

481
360
99
53

346
257
58
–

2012

2011

2010

829

909

881

647

2013

2012

2011

2010

298
20
68
210

357
20
66
270

355
30
62
263

260
32
–
228

204
30
–
174

2013

2012

2011

2010

470
193

472
172

554
159

621
189

443
164

204
73

229
71

326
69

370
62

229
50

2014

2014

Total

2013

766

2014

Business travel (Mpkm)

2014

2014

Electricity
District heating
Other energy

2013

2013

2012

2011

2010

35

28

26

24

18

35

28

26

24

18

Direct (kTonne)
Total
Facilities energy use (S1)
Fleet vehicles (S1)
Facilities energy use (S2)

Indirect (kTonne)
Total
Business travel (S3)
Product
transportation (S3)
Commuting (S3)

Other indirect (Mtonne)
Production and office waste (Tonne)
2014
Total
Recycling
Energy
Landfill
Hazardous

2013

2012

2011

2010

18,100
8,180
5,080
4,580
49

16,100
6,025
5,215
4,510
150

29,512
13,500
9,900
5,400
712

31,045
16,300
8,400
5,400
945

23,863
11,100
6,600
5,100
1,063

e-Waste treated
Reuse
Recycling
Energy
Landfill
a) Data

15,862
0
96
2
2

2013

2012

2011

2010

9,872
0
95
2
2

7,748 a)

5,567
5
88
5
2

5,672
2
91
6
1

1
93
4
2

S1, S2 and S3 stand for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 according to
GHG protocol.
Source: Ericsson

Emissions factors used in the consolidation (kTonne)

Product Take-Back (T-B) and End-of-Life treatment (Tonne)
2014

Total
Products in operation (S3)
– future (life time)

revised in 2014.

Ericsson follows ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards when performing
Life-cycle Assessments.

Aspect

Emission factor

Source

Electricity

Country specific

Electricity, Sweden
Green electricity

0.0007 kgCO2/kWh
0.0010 kgCO2/kWh

International Energy Agency
Sites in Sweden uses “Good environmental choice” from Telge Kraft.

District heating,
Other regions
District heating,
­Sweden

GWh: Gigawatt hours = one billion (1,000,000,000) watt hours
Mpkm: Million personal kilometer = Million distance traveled
Mtonnekm: Million *tonne* kilometer kTonne: Thousand tonne
Mtonne: Million tonne
GHG: Greenhouse Gas

Fuels

Source: Ericsson

0.22 kgCO2/kWh
0.10 kg CO2/kWh
GHG protocol
(for each typical fuel)

Air travel

0.12 kgCO2/pkm

Car travel

0.16 kgCO2/pkm

Air transports

0.65 kgCO2/tonnekm

Road transports

0.08 kgCO2/tonnekm

Sea transports

0.017 kgCO2/tonnekm

Rail transports

0.03 kgCO2/tonnekm

Chalmers Industrial Technology
Average. Site specific when
­available.
Chalmers Industrial Technology/
“Boverket” (Swedish Building
Adm.)

GHG protocol (average for long/ medium air travel). DEFRA GHG indicators for long haul air travel.
“Vägverket” (average car in the EU)
(Vägverket = Swedish Road Adm.)
Based on an investigation of air transport by Ericsson.
GHG protocol, average Swedish road transports according to
Swedish Road and Transport
Research Institute.
Average of Maersk Line and
E
­ ricsson typical TEU, TEU =
Twenty foot container eq. unit.
2012 Guidelines to Defra/DECC’s
GHG Conversion Factors for
­Company Reporting

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

35

enabling a low-­ carbon economy
The Networked Society is creating new opportunities for ICT-enabled solutions to accelerate the path towards a low-carbon economy and sustainable cities.
In an unprecedented shift for society,
Ericsson predicts that by 2018, 3G and
LTE/4G will represent over 50% of all active machine-to-machine subscriptions. And
4G device penetration will soar from 3% today to 20% to 30% in 2020.
Providing innovative solutions
Ericsson solutions contribute to the low-­ carbon economy. For utilities, our solutions include smart metering and smart grid communications, enabling higher l ­evels of renew­ ble electricity and reduced a household energy consumption.
Within transport, connected vehicles, ships or public transport contribute to safer, more efficient traffic flows, among other benefits. Real-time data enhances disaster and emergency management and enables quicker response. Cities at epicenter
Nowhere are these ICT-enabled solutions more evident than in the world’s fast-­ growing cities. But far more can be done to capture the opportunities enabled by connectivity and tap into new levels of e ­ fficiency and innovation in support of
­sustainble development.
By 2050, 7 out of 10 people will live in

36

cities. Already today cities account for over
70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 60–80% of global energy consumption, according to UN-Habitat. Citizen field engineer concept
In 2014 Ericsson and UN-Habitat conducted a social impact assessment of a new approach to address water quality, availability and affordability in Nairobi,
Kenya. The concept, Citizen Field Engineer, developed by Ericsson, builds on resources and skills in the local community to enable and improve service delivery and infrastructure maintenance in informal settle­ ents where city authorities often m have a weak presence. Under the concept, sensors and connected infrastructure are used to monitor water supply and water quality and community residents can become citizen field engineers to performing maintenance tasks on the physical infrastructure and receive mobile payment for their work. The water service provider can use sensor data to identify and locate point sources of pollution. Looking at how this theoretical concept would apply in
Kibera, Nairobi’s largest informal settlement, it was found to have potential to improve water availability and quality, water governance as well as improve
­gender equality.
Smart parking and lighting
In Águas de São Pedro Digital ­ ities, Brazil’s
C
first digital city, we are working with mobile operator Telefonica to enable ­ igital serd

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

vices and an integrated urban network. For example, CO2 emissions can be reduced via intelligent sensors and controls that t ­ ailor energy consumption more precisely to demand. Ericsson is ­ roviding smart p lighting and smart ­ arking solutions and p system integration for the project.
Smarter public transport in Chile
To optimize the public transport system in
Santiago, Chile, Ericsson is conducting a pilot with mobile operator Entel to provide location-based services technology that will allow Subtrans, Chile’s transport department, to monitor the movement of
Entel users in the Transantiago bus and metro system. The data will be used by
Subtrans to manage the system’s resources more efficiently and quickly detect areas for improvement. The data is generated by the mere use of Entel’s network while moving through the city; in no circumstances are any subscribers individualized.
Measuring ICT’s impact
More research will help identify indicators measuring ICT’s societal impacts. As a member of the ITU ­ echnical Focus Group,
T
“Smart and ­ ustainable Cities,” we are
S
helping to develop a methodology to assess ICT’s environmental impact in c ­ ities. Standardized frameworks can s ­ upport integration of ICT services in smart cities and measure outcomes.

Hot consumer trends
Sustainability is increasingly top of mind for consumers in use of technology, according to ­ ricsson
E
ConsumerLab’s “10 hot consumer trends for 2015.”
>> Helpful homes. Consumers show high interest in having home sensors that alert them to water and electricity issues, or when family members come and go.
>> Smart citizens. The idea of smart cities is intriguing – but a lot of that intelligence may actually come about as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviors of citizens. As the internet makes us more informed, we are in turn making better decisions. Consumers believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers will be mainstream by 2020.
>> The sharing economy. As the internet enables us to efficiently share information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy is potentially huge. Half of all smartphone owners are open to the idea of renting out their spare rooms, personal household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money.
>> My information. Although sharing information when there is a benefit is fine, smartphone owners see no point in making all of their actions open to anyone. Some 47% of smartphone owners would like to be able to pay electronically without an automatic transfer of personal information. Some
56% of smartphone owners would like all internet communication to be encrypted.

The 2014 Networked
Society City Index
The index ranks 40 cities and measures their ICT maturity in terms of leverage from ICT investments in economic, social and environmental development: the “triple bottom line” effect.
One of the key findings from the report is the fact that cities with a low ICT maturity tend to be improving their ICT maturity faster than high-performing c ­ ities, indicating a catch-up effect. Many cities also have the opportunity to leapfrog o ­ thers by avoiding expensive and increasingly obsolete phys­ ical infrastructure and instead moving straight into innovative applications using advanced mobile technology.

NETWORKED

SOCIETY

CITY INDEX

2014

Smart citizens
A 2014 online survey by Ericsson
Consumer­ ab found that using the internet
L
to offer smarter, more informed choices could alleviate urban concerns around health, commu­ ication and traffic. Smartn phone users aged between 15 and 69 were surveyed from ­ eijing, Delhi, London,
B
New York, Paris, Rome, São Paulo, Stockholm and Tokyo ­ epresenting 61 million r c
­ itizens. Among the key findings:

CONSUMERLAB

Smart citizens How the internet facilitates smart choices in city life

>> 76% want sensors in public spaces that let them know what areas are crowded and best avoided
>> 70% want to compare energy use with neighbors to optimize behavior
>> 66% want real-time control of drinking water quality
>> 74% want interactive street signs and bike/car sharing.

> 70%

An Ericsson Consumer Insight Summary Report
November 2014

of smartphone owners believe that
ENERGY USE
COMPARISON
APPS

TRAFFIC
VOLUME
MAPS

WATER
QUALITY
CHECKERS

will be mainstream by 2020.
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab report 10 hot consumer trends 2015

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

37

Intelligence in the grid
For the utilities industry, connectivity offers a chance to explore new business models that enable grea­ ­ t er use of renewable energy and help consumers cut energy use.
In a drive for efficiency, the energy industry is increasingly looking to connectivity to address challenges and opportunities around sustainable development throughout its value chain, from extraction of resources all the way through to consumption of electricity in homes and buildings.
In many countries, utilities are keen to manage energy load and boost network efficiency to avoid having to invest in additional power generation. They also want to empower consumers to better manage consumption. Intelligent grid
With smart grids and smart meters, utilities can monitor their assets more intelligently, enable consumers to better manage electricity use, and greatly reduce the complexity and cost of integrating use of renewable energy.

Many utilities are making substantial investments in ICT – both in terms of technology and new business models ranging from smart grids and metering deployments to full-scale IT transformation p ­ rojects. It is all part of a wider shift towards distributed, intermittent renewable energy generation, greater system energy efficiency, consumer involvement, peak demand reduction and development of electrical vehicles.
Ericsson has been a solutions provider for the utilities industry for several years.

What is a smart grid?
Smart grids use ICT to gather and act on information about the behavior of suppliers and consumers using the grid. This information can improve the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of electricity production and consumption. Utilities are rapidly introducing remote control and automation technologies that transform delivery systems into smart grids and customers’ meters into smart meters. This requires communication network solutions, as well as operational and business management support solutions.

Bringing smart meters to Estonia
Two years into an eight-year contract with Estonian electricity supplier Elektrilevi, more than half of the 630,000 total smart meters planned for Estonia have been installed.
The project includes installation of a central automatic meter reading system (AMR) for data gathering and integration into Elektrilevi systems, as well as AMR managed services during the rollout period.
Customers receive smart meters that can be read remotely, allowing them to save energy and money by adjusting energy purchases and consumption based on daily electricity prices. Smart meter customers also get more accurate and timely bills. In future, smart meters may help the utility find and eliminate power outages more quickly.
Elektrilevi is using the smart meters to suit customers’ individual needs, since
E
­ lektrilevi receives data from every connection point. Other benefits to Elektrilevi include lower costs and risk, improved network operation and maintenance and r ­ egulatory compliance in both the EU and Estonia.
Ericsson integrated the meter and data management operations support systems and will operate the smart metering network on Elektrilevi’s behalf. After 2016, Ericsson will provide maintenance for three years and Elektrilevi has the option of extending the maintenance contract until 2025.

38

To date, Ericsson has provided smart metering and smart communications s ­ ystems for utility customers in eight countries across Europe (France, Italy, Estonia,
S
­ weden, Spain, Ireland, Finland and the
UK), Canada and Australia. Significant u ­ tility contract announcements in 2014 include Landis & Gyr and Con Edison, with earlier announced contracts ongoing with
E.ON, Elektrilevi, Acea and Hydro Quebec.
The business represents a mix of managed services, smart metering as a service and smart meter deployment projects.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Transport shifts gears
With continued global growth p ­ rojected for transportation and mobility, tackling associated environmental challenges and driving efficiency gains, reduced emissions and improved safety is vital.
Environmental and climate change concerns combined with pressures on reliable energy supply are causing the transport sector to shift gears towards more sustainable mobility solutions.

We offer a number of solutions to contribute to this new direction. For the automotive industry, this includes enhanced driving safety supported by new telematics and data analytics, along with infrastructure for electric vehicle charging.
Exchanging information, traffic and road data can help drivers make better choices and avoid dangerous situations.
Cooperative driving provides real-time information about driver intentions so they can avoid risks when changing lanes.
Additionally, our solutions enable active

Mobility at sea improves efficiency
Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean carrier, was looking for a system that could monitor the reefer containers onboard. Ericsson provided a GSM communication network on Maersk’s vessels as well as internet for its fleet. The solution combines mobile and ­ atellite technology with global reach in professional managed services. s For Maersk, benefits of the solution include:
>> The ability to see the position, speed and direction of the vessels
>> Transfer of data from refrigerated containers to a back-end system.

support in critical situations – automated systems can help avoid imminent collisions.
Shared hazard information and intelligent traffic management help authorities improve safety.
Partnering with automakers
We are working with a number of companies in the automotive and ICT sectors, including Volvo Cars, to realize these
­possibilities.
Connected bike helmet
In a ground-breaking collaboration,
E
­ ricsson, Volvo, and protective gravity sports gear manufacturer POC presented proof of concept in 2014 for an innovative safety technology connecting drivers and cyclists for the first time. The cloud-based technology connects cyclists through a connected helmet with car drivers. By shar­ ing and comparing each other’s positions the two road users can get alerts of close encounters to avoid possible collisions.
Together for safer roads
According to the World Health Organisation, road traffic crashes are the 8th leading cause of death worldwide. We are one of ten founding members of Together for
Safer Roads, launched at the UN in 2014 to improve road safety, reduce road traffic collisions and help the UN fulfil its goal of halving road deaths during the Decade of Action for Road Safety. A primary goal of the coalition is to foster cross-sector collaboration to identify and scale best practices. Smarter shipping
In the shipping industry, our solutions give companies new ways to cut fuel costs and revolutionize cargo management with less waste of perishable goods.
The intelligence enabled by ICT provides the insight and solutions for fleet operators and shipping companies to reap substantial operational efficiency gains.
Speed and position monitoring of planned routes are done efficiently, leading to potential fuel savings.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

39

communication for all

40

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Connecting the unconnected ICT is increasingly recognized as an essential means of boosting social and e ­ conomic development. We need to scale for impact in order to make the full range of possibilities in the Networked Society affordable and accessible to all.
From boosting livelihoods and promoting financial inclusion and gender equality to improved access to health, education, government services and more, ICT is an essential part of every aspect of our lives.
It also helps advance equality, democracy, governance and freedom of expression.
Today those benefits are available to more people than ever before with the rapid growth of mobile communications.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly affordable. This means people in regions with low levels of internet penetration, such as sub-Saharan Africa, will be able to take advantage of full connectivity for the first time via their smartphones.
Connecting the unconnected
Despite these positive trends, an estimated
2.5 billion people remain unconnected to mobile devices, and 4.4 billion of the world population still do not have access to internet. In a business as usual scenario, 1.7 billion will still be unconnected to mobile devices in 2020. This digital divide is more prevalent in rural areas and affects the least-developed countries and marginalized populations disproportionately.
In connecting the unconnected, there are huge opportunities for business, and society, but this transformation will not happen on its own. Through use of our technology, we combine mobility, broadband and cloud services to improve access to healthcare, education and

l
­ivelihoods around the world. If affordable and fully accessible, the internet extends opportunities to all, allowing everyone to benefit from the digital age on more equal terms, which leads to positive impacts for business, people and society.
Greater efforts are needed by industry and governments to close this gap as market forces are not sufficient in the near term in order to address the three main barriers to progress: infrastructure, affordability and usage.
While strong economic growth in the developing world has helped lift millions out of poverty, global population growth, modern lifestyles and consumption are now stretching the limits of the planet’s resources. ICT has radically transformed communication and daily life, opening up new possibilities for helping to put the world on a more sustainable path.

85% of the growth in 3G and 4G connectivity will be in Asia Pacific, the
Middle East and Africa.”
Source: Ericsson Mobility Report
(November 2014)

Making a difference
We apply our innovation and technology to develop solutions in response to global challenges; the use of M-Commerce as an innovative business platform to address financial inclusion is just one example.
In our belief that technology is a force for good, we are also committed to making a contribution, in partnership with others, to address the many humanitarian crises the world faces, from refugees to health and education to disaster relief.

Measuring our impact
In 2013, Ericsson set an objective to positively impact 2.5 ­ illion m people directly through our Technology for Good™ ­nitiatives by i 2016. In 2014, we exceeded that goal, positively impacting over
4 million people. This has inspired us to revise our objective to
5.5 million people positively impacted by 2016.
While often difficult to establish exact causality between
ICT and a specific outcome, we have a number of ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities. For the time being, we have

determined that the most reliable indicator to track our progress is to measure the number of people positively impacted by our
Technology for Good programs, the additional people covered by Ericsson-enabled mobile broadband networks in low-and medium-HDI (Human Development Index) countries, as defined by the UN Development Programme, and the number of people with increased access to financial services resulting from deployment of Ericsson technology and solutions.

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41

Mobile money meets needs of unbanked
Mobile commerce is creating a new financial ecosystem to address the needs of the world’s unbanked population, creating unprecedented opportunities for inclusion.
The World Bank reports that some 2.5 b ­ illion people are unbanked, the majority in emerging markets and developing countries. And yet 70% of the world has access to a mobile phone.
Studies show that broader participation in the financial system can reduce income inequality, boost job creation and directly help people better manage risks and absorb financial shocks.
Mobile financial services can also empower marginalized groups such as rural women by providing the confidentiality and convenience they require. In developing countries 37% of women have access to a bank account compared to 46% of men.
Ericsson is driving the next generation of mobile commerce development by connecting banks, operators, money transfer organizations, and payment and loan providers. This industry-leading work is creating a more flexible, transparent and open financial ecosystem that helps key stakeholders speed the launch of mobile financial services to drive financial inclusion. Partnering with Peru’s ASBANC
In 2014, ASBANC, Peru’s National Bank
Association, selected Ericsson to design and implement its Mobile Money project, the country’s largest private initiative for financial inclusion. ASBANC estimates that
2.1 million Peruvians will own and benefit from a mobile wallet by 2019.
The initiative with ASBANC is significant.
In addition to the 13 major banks of Peru, bank agents and mobile operators plan to get connected to the Mobile Wallet Platform to create an m-commerce eco-system in
Peru to address the financial needs of the unbanked population.
The platform will feature easy-to-use and secure next-generation mobile financial services, capable of hosting all services from different financial and commercial institutions to secure interoperability.
The Ericsson M-Commerce solution includes the development of the mobile money platform, systems integration, ­earning l services, managed services and support.

42

One m-wallet, multiple uses
People will be able to use their m-wallets for banking, payments and remittances between banks, shops, employers, government institutions and customers, all carried out on a single, secure platform.
Available in indigenous languages as well as Spanish, the service aims for universal inclusion and appeal. The solution is expected to be implemented in phases and available in the Peruvian market in
2015.
Ericsson’s M-Commerce solutions are already deployed with mobile operator

MTN in Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria,
S
­ waziland and Zambia. Ericsson is working with operator Millicom’s Tigo platform in Senegal.
Overcoming challenges
For m-commerce to gain traction in regions with low financial inclusion, a number of factors must be addressed. These include regulation linking mobile operators and financial institutions, supportive government policy, consumer education and local system capacity.

Mobile financial services enable small-scale entrepreneurs to accept convenient mobile payments.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Bringing 4G to the Peruvian Amazon
In 2014, Ericsson implemented the first rural connectivity project in
Latin America to provide internet to
Amazon communities with 4G/LTE technology, together with mobile operator Telefonica Peru. The aim is to further social inclusion, foster economic growth, and contribute to a better quality of life for thousands of people.
This is the first project in Latin
America to use 4G technology as fixed wireless internet access in remote rural areas with difficult geography, such as that of the
Amazonian jungle – going a long way in bridging the digital divide for people living in these communities.
Many socio-economic benefits
Government entities in the Peruvian
Amazon, such as schools and

healthcare centers, will gain internet access via 4G/LTE during
2015. With over 500,000 square kilometers, the Peruvian Amazon has some of the greatest biodiversity and largest amount of oldgrowth forest in the world.
Providing internet access will not only help with reducing the d ­ igital gap and fostering economic growth, but also provide people in these isolated areas the advantages connectivity can offer in terms of education, job creation and a better quality of life.
For the first time, these remote and inaccessible areas will be c ­ onnected not only with the rest of Peru, but also with the whole world. Remote rural areas in the Amazon will now benefit from internet access through mobile connectivity.

Connecting community kiosks in Africa
Ericsson, The Coca-Cola Company and
German start-up Solarkiosk are piloting a project to leverage the role of ICT in improv­ ing socio-economic development for rural villagers in Africa, with a focus on empowering women. Ericsson will provide mobile broadband solutions for Coca-Cola’s
EKOCENTER™, a modular community market that is run by local woman entrepreneurs and also provides safe water, solar power and internet access.
The kiosk will serve as a hub where free and fee-based services can be offered, ranging from education, healthcare, finance, information and entertainment.
Many of these services cannot be delivered without connectivity. The ultimate goal of the pilot is to empower the local community and find commercially viable solutions that can scale.

Using solar power
Ericsson will deploy its solar-powered
Managed Rural Coverage solution to p ­ rovide telecom services in the rural areas where the kiosks are located. The community will enjoy 3G services that will be run using solar energy, generated through the kiosks designed and built by Solarkiosk.
Ericsson’s TV Anywhere service will provide news, information and entertainment and health and education capabilities.
Together, the solutions make the kiosk a connected hub for the community.
Pilot in Rwanda
The first connected EKOCENTER™ will be piloted in Rwanda in 2015 with Tigo.
Based on the results, there are plans to launch connected kiosks in several sites in Rwanda and other African countries.

Ericsson will provide mobile solutions for Coca-Cola’s
EKOCENTER™.

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43

Extending the reach of Connect to Learn
One of the world’s most pressing global challenges is ensuring access to education, which is a funda­ mental human right. Despite major progress over the past decade, many young people, particularly girls in developing countries, lack access to secondary education. Society loses out, too. Countries with e ­ ducated populations have better health, educational, social and economic outcomes. Connect To Learn was conceived to address some of the challenges relating to secondary education access and quality.
It is a global education initiative launched in 2010 by the Earth Institute of Columbia
University, Millennium Promise and
E
­ ricsson to scale up access to quality secondary education, in particular for girls, by providing scholarships and bringing ICT to schools in remote, resource-poor parts of the world, over mobile broadband. To date the initiative is launched in 21 countries and benefiting some 50,000 students.

Grade nine students in Bhutan, part of a pilot e-learning project “iSchool.”

process, as a member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Broadband Commission on Digital
Development.

Scaling up girls’ education in Myanmar
Ericsson and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and partners have joined forces as part of DFID’s Girls’
Education Challenge to support girls’ education in Myanmar (also known as Burma).
In support of the SDGs
It aims to improve access to the internet,
Initiatives such as Connect To Learn can delivering teacher training and enabling play a key role in helping achieve future s ­ tudents to experience a 21st century
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). e ­ ducation. The collaboration with the UK
Proposed SDG 4 (4.1) sets out that “by government and DFID is Ericsson’s first
2030, ensure that all girls and boys compublic-private partnership with a governplete free, equitable and quality primary ment. Through the unique constellation of and secondary education leading to relepartners, we believe it is one meaningful vant and effective learning outcomes.” way to bring scale and impact to Connect
Ericsson is taking an active role promoting
To Learn. access to ICT and broadband in the SDG
In Myanmar, only 54% of secondary school-aged children are enrolled in secondary school, according to the World
Bank. As the population of Myanmar
Connect To Learn begins to enjoy the benefits of mobile
Number of students communications, the intention is that s ­ column
Obs! Gjord medtudents will not be left behind.
60,000
Estimated

50,000
43,050

40,000

will från
Gör så här: Färglägg inte allow more than 30 secondary schools paletten. Markera staplar med vita to be connected to the internet through pilen. Välj Object–Graph–Column.
Där väljer man färgmobile broadband, with deployment to the och ev tint.
Kolla särskilt att “Sliding” är valt på for 2015. Professional develschools set
“Column type”.

30,000
20,000
10,000
0

opment programs for teachers, educa-

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Source: Connect To Learn

44

design. Prata med
Eva/Catta/Sanna om ev
Connecting more than 30 schools frågor. Leveraging Connect To Learn, the initiative

Type–Options: tional content for students, and child1 stapel: 76% 70%
2 staplar: 80% 80%friendly computing solutions to improve

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

l
­iteracy and numeracy among females are among the aims.
Ericsson is working with UNESCO, the
Earth Institute at Columbia University, Finja
Five, Qualcomm Incorporated, through its
Qualcomm© Wireless Reach™ initiative, and the external evaluator EduEval to deliver the program.
Up to 600 scholarships will also be p ­ rovided to marginalized girls. The deployments are supported by mobile operator
Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications and will benefit 11,000 students in the first two years.
Reaching remotest Bhutan
We partnered in 2014 with the Government
­
of Bhutan, the Ministry of Education and
Bhutan Telecom to roll out a pilot e-learning project “iSchool.”
Based on Connect To Learn, the project aims to provide access to quality e ­ ducation to 250 grade nine students at six schools in remote areas of Bhutan.
Ericsson is deploying videoconference and commu­ ications technology; Bhutan n Telecom will provide high-speed mobile broadband. If successful, the initiative is planned to extend to some 200 schools.
Extending outreach in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, a partnership between
E
­ ricsson, Mobitel and Open University of Sri Lanka brings ICT and computer literacy education to teenage girls in farming communities in Sri Lanka.

Launch in Northern Ghana
In Ghana, Connect To Learn is being launched in the Millennium Village in the
Northern Ghana SADA region with mobile operator Tigo, which will benefit over 7,000 students, in four secondary schools. This will build upon Connect To Learn’s girls’ scholarship program, which was launched in SADA in 2013. The launch of Connect To
Learn follows Ericsson’s deployment of a
3G network to eight sites in the SADA region, in cooperation with Tigo.
Today over 500,000 people in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are benefiting from connectivity in engagement with the
Millennium Villages Project (MVP). This connectivity has made it possible to introduce Connect To Learn as well as other services that benefit villagers, for example within health and small businesses development, which is improving livelihoods.

Girls in Ghana take advantage of cloud-managed education through Connect To Learn.

Current Connect to Learn deployments

TUNISIA
CHINA
MEXICO

BHUTAN

CAPE
VERDE

INDIA

SENEGAL

SRI LANKA

BRAZIL

MYANMAR

This map covers deployments of Ericsson’s cloud-managed
ICT solution for education (ongoing and scheduled for first half of 2015) in conjunction with the Connect To Learn and
WPDI Initiatives.

DJIBOUTI

UGANDA

RWANDA

GHANA

CHILE

BURKINA
FASO

ETHIOPIA

KENYA

TANZANIA

MALAWI

SOUTH
SUDAN

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45

ericsson response
Our employee volunteer program Ericsson Response has responded to natural disasters and humanitarian crises since 2000; in 2014, an important mission was bringing critical communications support to West Africa during the Ebola crisis to aid humanitarian workers on the ground.

Ericsson Response is a global initiative of around 140 specially trained employee volunteers which provides communications expertise, equipment and resources to

Ericsson Response has been supporting community health workers on the frontline of the Ebola crisis.

assist humanitarian relief organizations in responding faster and more effectively when disaster strikes. Since its formation, employee volunteers have been deployed in over 40 relief efforts in 30 countries.
Ericsson Response supports UN and humanitarian workers with emergency telecoms support as a leading partner of
Emergency Telecom Cluster (ETC). During
2014, Ericsson Response volunteers continued to assist humanitarian workers in missions including: the aftermath of the devastating typhoon in the Philippines; assisting aid workers in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements in both
South Sudan and Iraq; as well as engaging in the Ebola response.
Emergency telecoms in west Africa
To support Ebola relief efforts in west
Africa, Ericsson Resp­ nse has been o requested to support the ETC and their role in the UN Mission in Ghana and
S
­ enegal, as well as supporting connectivity

Viewpoint
Right now we are facing an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises around the world. It’s more important than ever that we look for new solutions to take on these challenges. We’re looking at refugee displacement in Syria, a major crisis in South Sudan, and in
West Africa we’re fighting the Ebola outbreak. Ericsson’s commitment in responding to the great many humanitarian crises around the world will be a tremendous benefit to our joint ability to create new partnerships and respond more effectively to people on the ground. We believe our two organizations can be extraordinarily powerful in bringing new solutions to the field and to the frontline where we most need them.”
Allan Freedman, Advisor, Public
Private Partnerships & Innovation
International Rescue Committee

46

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

in common oper­ tional areas in Sierra a Leone, Ghana and Guinea.
The deployment of some 15–20 of our
WIDER (Wireless LAN in Disaster and
Emergency Response) solutions are s ­ upporting up to 65 sites in West Africa, including emergency treatment units and connecting thousands of humanitarian workers to the internet.

Transforming humanitarian response
The spread of Ebola, the Syrian refugee crisis and the less high-profile crisis in South
Sudan all present different challenges to those working with humanitarian response.
The challenge is knowing what technology to leverage, and how to best make use of data and partners. Just as many industries are experiencing data, mobility and cloud transformations, modern technology is increasingly seen as a way to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian response. Ericsson has worked with humanitarian response and Technology for Good™ for more than 15 years, helping organizations to address humanitarian and sustainability challenges.

New partnership
In 2014, Ericsson and the International Rescue Committee entered a partnership aimed at connecting and providing support for those impacted by health crises, natural disaster and conflict-driven humanitarian crises.
The partnership initially will focus on the use of mobile phones and applications designed to support Ebola i ­nfection-prevention efforts at primary healthcare facilities in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Specifically, the technology will enable IRC teams to more accurately and efficiently capture and monitor data related to the facilities’ Ebola preparedness and response.
The partnership also will provide technology and s ­ ervices that enable displaced families to reconnect with one another. It will start in South Sudan, together with
Ericsson’s long-term partner Refugees United. The organizations will collaborate on common projects, advocacy and knowledge sharing over the longer term. The public-­ private partnership will capitalize on respective strengths and help create real impact on the ground.

Responding to the Ebola crisis
Mobile phones can empower health workers who are fighting the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. We are contributing to Ebola infection-prevention efforts in a number of ways, primarily by supporting community health workers.
As part of the initatives led by the Earth
Institute and the International Rescue
Committee (IRC), Ericsson is helping to empower community health workers in
West Africa.

Helping health workers on the frontline
Ericsson supplied more than 1,600 mobile phones pre-loaded with m-health apps to health workers in communities affected by
Ebola, for use by the IRC and the UN Population Fund. A survey management tool and a patient record-tracking tool were among the apps.
Ericsson employees volunteered to set up the phones with health apps before they were shipped to West Africa, removing complexity in the field, as part of a new em­ ployee volunteer pilot in Sweden (which also involves mentoring of high school students).

Multi-stakeholder effort
The effort in West Africa contributes to the 1 Million Community Health Workers
(CHW) Campaign hosted by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, in which Ericsson is represented. The goal is to use ICT to help community health workers, often on the frontline during d ­ isease outbreaks, to do their job more effectively and link the rural poor to the broader healthcare system.

reconnecting families
By bringing on board a number of mobile network operators in countries of concern it has been possible to reach more families in refugee environments, on a scale that
REFUNITE would not have been able to accomplish on its own.

An online family reconnection platform, easily accessed by mobile phone, is helping refugees locating loved ones.

According to the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR), for the first time since World War
II, there are more than 50 million forcibly displaced people in the world. From Syria to South Sudan, a historic and daunting refugee crisis is unfolding. Technology can play an important role in addressing the needs of the world’s growing number of refugees. Reconnecting loved ones
Since 2010, Ericsson has been the lead technology partner to Refugees United
(REFUNITE), a non-profit organization founded in 2008 to help displaced persons locate missing family and loved ones.
Ericsson has supported the development of an online family reconnection platform, providing technical expertise, and engaging with mobile network operators and employees for on-the-ground support.

The mobile phone platform combines a simple, low-tech user interface, like text message services such as SMS and
USSD, with high-tech back-end search algorithms and analytics. For the user, it is cost-free, and works over low bandwidth connections on the most basic devices so that refugees can register themselves and access the service. Aiming to reach 1 million
Since its formation, REFUNITE has assisted thousands of forcibly displaced families, with hundreds of family reconnections as a result. By end of 2014, the database had approximately 350,000 registered users – an increase from approximately 250,000 in 2013, largely thanks to digital registrations. The goal is to register
1 million people separated from family by end of 2015.

Assisting Syrian refugees
Since 2010, a coalition of mobile operators in Africa and the Middle East has supported the project, including Safaricom in
Kenya, Vodacom DRC in Democratic
Republic of the Congo, MTN in Uganda,
Zain Group in Jordan and South Sudan,
Asiacell in Iraq and AVEA in Turkey.
In February 2014, the reconnection platform was launched to help reach
S
­ yrian refugees living in Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
The REFUNITE platform is available to families via a mobile application with tollfree lines and SMS awareness campaigns and at www.refunite.org.

Refugees United
Number of refugees registered
400,000

354,817

300,000

200,000

9.0

100,000

0

2011

2012

2013

2014

Source: Refugees United

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47

Transforming young lives on path to peace Access to mobile technology

can provide fresh perspectives and new, life-changing skills for youth in conflict-affected countries.
E
­ ricsson together with the Whitaker
Peace and Development Initiative
(WPDI) seeks to break cycles of violence and conflict through youth education aimed at peace building.
Drug trafficking and gangs in Mexico, and conflicts like the civil wars in South Sudan and Uganda can have devastating effects on youth. In such conflict-prone areas,
60% or more of the population affected are children and youth. By working together,
WPDI and Ericsson, as technology partner, help to equip young people with the tools and skills they need in order to affect real change via peaceful means in their home communities.
WPDI was founded in 2012 by actor
Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and UN
Advocate for Children Affected by War. It has already made strides in community empowerment of violence-affected youth in its programs in the United States, Latin
America, and in Africa. WPDI’s training focuses on conflict transformation; ICT training, which Ericsson provides, to help youth get connected with a larger world and and build needed ICT skills for future jobs; life skills such as meditation and yoga, and community project development assistance.
Youth Peacemakers
The Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN) is a key part of WPDI. YPN’s goal is to foster young leaders in conflict regions such as in
South Sudan, or in post-conflict situations as in northern Uganda. YPN agents contribute to positive change by fostering reconciliation and conflict prevention in the local communities of their county. ICT helps the youths from all the sites connect to each other and share experiences.

48

A lifeline in South Sudan
The YPN was established in South Sudan in late 2012 and the tragic outbreak of civil war in December 2013 put the project on hold. The youth participants were, however, able to create some early warning systems based on friendship, inclusion and a commitment to peace, regardless of ethnicity or racial lines. Thanks to computers and phones provided as part of the program, they informed each other on the whereabouts of violent outbursts as they were happening; they shared information about rumored attacks, and reports about the safety levels of roads. Through their network, the youths could advise each other on which routes to travel, and how to get to safety.
The project restarted in 2014 in Eastern
Equatoria state, a more stable region and progress included the launch of computer centers and vocational training.

Harmonizer in Mexico
WPDI launched the three-year Harmonizer
Program in Tijuana, Mexico in 2014.
H
­ armonizer is aimed at conflict transformation in urban settings where violence has had an impact. The program concluded its first stage with the graduation of 34 youth in leadership, ICT usage, and skill development in conflict resolution and well-being.
Harmonizer is slated to expand to the state of Chiapas in Mexico in 2015. Some 35
Ericsson volunteers in Mexico are supporting the youths by teaching ICT and social media skills to help promote the program.
Hands-on training in Uganda
As part of the Harmonizer program, throughout 2014 Ericsson has worked with the Hope North school to provide hands-on ICT training for youth affected by
Uganda’s civil war and to help build vocational skills. The training covered use of the internet, social networks and staying safe online, as well as communication and entreprenurial skills.

Actor Forest Whitaker, founder of WPDI and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and
Reconciliation, shares one of many moments of connection with youth in Mexico.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Breaking down barriers

Ericsson has teamed with
F
­ acebook and other partners with the goal to make internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected.
There are still many regions in the world where connectivity is not taken for granted and where slow networks with insufficient capacity are a common issue.
The goal of Internet.org, a partner­ ship between Ericsson, Facebook and other technology companies, including
Samsung and Qualcomm, is that everyone in the world should benefit from the opportunities of connectivity. Together, the companies brainstorm initiatives that will support the furthering of connectivity worldwide, and pool their resources to implement these initiatives.

nology is common in many countries, much of the world still operates on 2G and
3G standards. Ericsson sponsored hackathons in 2014 to provide developers with simulated network environments running networks of various capabilities, so that they could test their work on these other networks. With the insights gained, developers were able to make changes to their apps for better performance the same day.
Optimization with XL Axiata
Also in 2014, Ericsson and Facebook released data on a long-term project that focused on the development of a model

for improving networking performance.
Through joint testing of Indonesian oper­ ator XL Axiata’s network with Facebook starting in December 2013, Ericsson i ­dentified network issues affecting per­ formance and made alterations to the radio network, DNS servers and content delivery network that resulted in up to
70% improvement in app coverage.
The model developed in this project has been leveraged into Ericsson’s
App Experience Optimization service, expanding the offering worldwide.

Ericsson has joined Facebook and other companies to address barriers to internet access in Internet.org.

Innovation Lab
Ericsson and Facebook have partnered on the Internet.org Innovation Lab, which opened on Facebook’s Menlo Park campus in February 2015. It provides the test environments and expertise for optimizing applications, networks, devices and services for the next five billion internet users.
Much like Ericsson’s smartphone labs, this location is open to developers to experiment with their app’s performance on a global scale, without the cost and complications of traveling worldwide. Apps can be tested in a real-world envi­ onment r and under conditions which are typical for growth markets. It also gives developers a way to ensure their apps will run in very remote areas and to optimize the apps for customers who are commonly exposed to network capacity and accessibility issues.
Ericsson provides access to simulated network environments, analysis of network performance, and control of networks to implement optimization efforts.
Hackathons spark ideas
To bridge the connectivity gap, apps need to be able to run even with very limited network parameters. While 4G network tech-

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50

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

IN RECOGNITION

Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations in the World
Ericsson is on the 2014 Global100 list announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014. The Global 100 is an annual project initiated by Corporate
Knights, the company for clean capitalism.

FTSE4Good
FTSE Group confirms that Ericsson has been independently assessed according to the FTSE4Good criteria, and has satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, an equity index series designed to facilitate investment in companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. Telecoms.com 2014 Industry Awards
In February 2014, Ericsson received the telecoms.com 2014 Industry Awards
“Connecting the Unconnected,” in recognition for providing connectivity to address basic human needs through the Millennium Villages Project and Connect To
Learn initiative.

Member of the Ethibel excellence
Ericsson has been reconfirmed for inclusion in the Ethibel EXCELLENCE Investment Register since 25/04/2014. This selection by Forum ETHIBEL indicates that the company performs better than average in its sector in terms of Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR).

Newsweek Global Green ranking
In partnership with Corporate Knights
Capital and leading sustainability minds from nongovernmental organizations and the academic and accounting communities, Newsweek has ranked the world’s largest companies on corporate sustainability and environmental impact.
Ericsson is ranked 40 on Newsweek’s global green ranking list in 2014.

Verizon
In 2014, Ericsson was awarded Verizon’s
Top Performance Award for CSR out of
200 suppliers, acknowledged for having robust CSR programs, comprehensive policies, actions and results.

EcoVadis
According to EcoVadis, a collaborative platform used in procurement by 18 of our customers, Ericsson is in the top 2% of suppliers in all categories with a score of
79/100, the EcoVadis Gold level. The platform enables companies to benchmark sustainability performance of suppliers.

CDP
With inclusion in The A List: The CDP
C
­ limate Performance Leadership Index
2014, Ericsson is recognized as one of the world’s leading companies in tackling climate change. The index has been created at the request of more than 750 investors, representing more than a third of the world’s invested capital, to assess com­ panies’ efforts to mitigate ­ limate change. c Companies on the A List have received top marks for their performance in an i ­ndependent assessment according to methodology developed by the CDP.
The 2014–15 CDP supply chain program involved 66 corporations with $1.3 trillion in procurement spend. They requested that their suppliers disclose information on how they are approaching climate and water risks and opportunities, generating the largest ever set of such data, from 3,396 companies worldwide, up from 2,868 in
2013. Ericsson scored A.

ASBANC
Ericsson received the 2014 Mobile Money
& Digital Global Payments Award for Disruptive Digital Payments for the company’s leading work with ASBANC, Peru’s
National Bank Association, to improve financial inclusion in Peru. The awards program recognizes exceptional achievement and advancement within the mobile money sector, highlighting organizations that have changed the game for digital payments in 2014 and that are disrupting the global payments marketplace.

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51

Objectives and Achievements
In line with our ambition to be a relevant and responsible drive of positive change, we have restructured our objectives and achievements to reflect our efforts to reduce risks and create positive impacts. We have also con­ idered stakeholder s feedback in streamlining our performance reporting. In addition to reporting on 2014 objectives, we have merged earlier long-term objectives (2013–2016) into a 2014–2016 time frame. We also report progress on some of the earlier objectives on various pages in this report; the relevant paragraphs are noted with the following icon:
See also bottom of p. 53.

Risk reduction objectives
Status
2014

Long Term Objectives (LTO)
(2014–2016) *

Achievements 2014

Objective 2015

Complete South East Asia Environmental
Audit Program and enhance integration of environmental aspects into Respons­ble i Sourcing Program.

The South East Asia Audit program has been completed and the environmental aspects have been more deeply integrated into the Responsible Sourcing Program.

Close 60% of audit findings.

Achieve 95% completion rate of training
“Anti-corruption for Suppliers” by Strategic
Sourcing personnel.

Identify and mitigate supplier risks related to Responsible
Sourcing.

Objectives 2014

We achieved over 90% completion rate of training.

Broaden Supplier Code of Conduct to a Responsible Sourcing Program with enhanced risk assessment, tracking and improvement activities.
Reduce the number of critical findings among selected high risk suppliers audited in 2013 and 2014 by 70%.
Establish and launch Zero Incident Program with the target to reduce severe incidents internally and in the supply chain.
Increase completion rate of anti-corruption e-learning for employees and suppliers.

We have broadened the Supplier Code of Conduct to a Responsible Sourcing
P
­ rogram with enhanced risk assessment, tracking and improvement activities.
The number of critical findings among selected high-risk suppliers audited in both 2013 and 2014 decreased 60%.
We established and launched the Zero i ­ncident Program (See OHS below).

Approx 90,000 employees completed the anti-corruption e-learning for employees.
Over 1,100 supplier representatives completed the e-learning Anti-Corruption for
Suppliers in 2014.

Continue to deploy anti-­ corruption training targeting all employees, and selected suppliers, in line with our zero tolerance policy.
Secure independent third party to manage whistle blower process.

Achieve 13% of e-waste takeback vs. equipment Put on Market (POM) while continuing to ensure less than 5% of e-waste is disposed of in landfill.
Note: The long-term target has been revised downward to reflect market reality (see p. 33).

We achieved approximately 6% of e-waste take-back vs. put on market, and less than
2% of e-waste was disposed of in landfill.

Achieve 9% of e-waste takeback vs. Equipment Put on
Market while continuing to ensure less than 5% of e-waste is disposed of in landfill.

Reduce major Occupational
Health and Safety (OHS) incidents and track mitigation of risk for major incidents, working toward our long-term goal for zero fatalities.

Establish and launch Zero Incident Program with the target to reduce severe incidents internally and in the supply chain.
Launch a new campaign to continue to focus on raising awareness internally of the importance of OHS in each region.
At the end of 2014 at least 95% of the i ­ncident investigators will be trained in the investigation methodology. Particular focus will be put on incidents related to working at heights and safe driving.

The Zero Incident Program was launched focusing on on high-risk operations including driving and working at heights.
This included the development of tools, training, global governance model and escalation procedures for field service work by internal staff as well as within supply chain. At the end of 2014, 97% of the incident investigators that conducted investigations were trained.

Increase reported volume of incidents with 50% in countries with low reporting and train personnel for key roles.

Secure regional and Business
Unit adherence to the Sales
Compliance process.
Manage Corporate Responsi­ bility risks including human rights risks.

52

Achieve 17% of e-waste take-back vs.
Equipment Put on Market while continuing to ensure less than 5% of e-waste is d ­ isposed of in landfill.

Complete the second year of the Business
Learning Program on business and human rights with Shift.
Complete a Human Rights Impact Assessment in one additional high-risk country.

Second year of the Business Learning
P
­ rogram on business and human rights with Shift was completed.
The Sales Compliance Process is fully
­operational.
Human Rights Impact Assessments in
Myanmar and Iran were conducted in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Extend a third year of the
B
­ usiness Learning Program on business and human rights with Shift.
Secure regional and Business
Unit adherence to the Sales
Compliance policy and directive and manage Corporate
Responsi­bility risks.
Reduce human rights risks by completing identified mitigation plans in human rights impact assessments for Iran and
Myanmar, and initiate HRIA for one additional country.

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Positive impact objectives
Status
2014

Long Term Objectives (LTO)
(2014–2016) *

Objectives 2014

Achievements 2014

Objective 2015

Demonstrate energy performance improvements in line with the strategy to be the undisputed leader in energy
­performance.

By 2016 research and evaluate algorithms or technologies that would enable a decrease of total accumulated mobile network energy consumption with 30% in a
2020 scenario, in addition to the concepts provided by the EARTH ­ roject (Energy p Aware Radio and neTwork tecHnologies –
EU research project).

In 2014, algorithms and technologies have been developed that enable a total mobile network energy consumption reduction of about 5% in a 2020 scenario, in addition to the concepts provided by the EARTH p ­ roject (Energy Aware Radio and neTwork tecHnologies – EU research project).
Significant progress was made in the new radio platform, Ericsson Radio System, in improving energy efficiency by 50%.

By 2016 research and evaluate algorithms or technologies that would enable a decrease of total accumulated mobile n ­ etwork energy consumption with 30% in a 2020 scenario, in addition to the concepts p ­ rovided by the EARTH project.
Demonstrate energy performance improvements in customer networks.

Maintain absolute CO2e emissions from Ericsson own activities for business travel, product transportation and facilities energy use in 2017 at the same level as 2011. Reduce CO2e emissions per employee by 30% over five years.

Reduce CO2e emissions per employee by
7% over five years.

Achieved a 10% reduction of CO2e e ­ missions per employee.

Reduce 6% CO2e emissions per employee. Impact positively 5.5 million people through Technology for
Good™ initiatives by 2016.

Positively impact 2.5 million people with
Technology for Good™ initiatives.

In 2014 we achieved over 4 million people positively impacted by Technology for
Good™ initiatives.

Impact positively 4.8 million people through Technology for Good™ initiatives.

Ericsson’s solutions will reduce societal emissions from selected
Industry & Society offerings with
2 times Ericsson’s own emissions.

Develop 3–5 cases that show the ICT-­ enablement potential for the low-carbon economy. We have estimated 1.4 Mtonne CO2 carbon reductions in 2014 from selected Ericsson offerings; this represent a ratio of 1.8.

Ericsson’s solutions will reduce societal emissions from selected
Industry & Society offerings with
2 times Ericsson’s own emissions. Reach 30% female employees by 2020.

In 2014, 22% of Ericsson employees were female.

* Unless otherwise stated.

Target achieved
Status
2014

Partly achieved

On track

Objectives not found above in 2014–2016 LTOs are reported on the following pages.

Page

Increase by 30% the number of technical certifications passed.

22

Launch Ericsson Technology for Good™ employee volunteer program.

47

Increase awareness of Diversity and Inclusion, by strengthening and increasing the number of employee networks, participating in targeted ­ evelopment programs, and building for the future by encouraging girls to consider careers in ICT. d 23

Launch Ericsson Play and Virtual Campus to facilitate new ways employees can learn and share.

22

Increase number of Global Employee Referrals by 20%.

21

Publish first results from partnership with UN-Habitat on sustainable urbanization.

36

Deployed ICT in education projects to an additional 10,000 students.

44

Achieve 650,000 registrations in the Refugees United database.

47

Continue the establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation framework for evaluating the connection between technology, development and peace with ICT tools and training.

41

Establish a globally agreed industry position around the potential of ICT for low carbon economy with key stakeholders.

7

Advocacy and support for Broadband Commission for Digital Development’s 2015 targets and post-2015 development agenda.

7

Document connection between technology, development and peace with ICT tools and training by 2015.

48

Be one of the key drivers to increase financial inclusion in an open financial ecosystem, and make it significantly simpler and more affordable to make a financial transaction over a mobile device, whomever or wherever you are.

42

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

53

GRI Index
Full reporting online
GRI

Reporting element

PROFILE
1. STRATEGY AND ANALYSIS
CEO statement about the relevance of sustainability to
1.1
the organization
1.2

Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities

2. ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
2.1
Name of the organization
2.2
Primary brands, products, and/or services
2.3
Operational structure of the organization
2.4
Location of organization’s headquarters
2.5
Countries where the organization operates
2.6
Nature of ownership and legal form
2.7
Markets served
2.8
Scale of the reporting organization
2.9
Significant changes during the reporting period
2.10
Awards received in the reporting period
3. REPORT PARAMETERS
3.1
Reporting period
3.2
Date of most recent previous report
3.3
Reporting cycle (annual, biennial, etc.).
3.4
Contact for questions regarding the report
3.5
Process for defining report content
3.6
Boundary of the report
State any specific limitations on the scope or boundary
3.7
of the report
Basis for reporting on subsidiaries, leased facilities,
3.8
o
­ utsourced operations, etc.
Data measurement techniques and the bases
3.9
of calculations
Explanation of the effect of any re-statements of
3.10
i
­nformation provided in earlier reports
Significant changes from previous reporting periods in
3.11
the scope, boundary, or measurement methods
Table identifying the location of the Standard
3.12
Disclosures in the report
Policy and current practice with regard to seeking
3.13
external assurance for the report
4. GOVERNANCE, COMMITMENTS AND ENGAGEMENTS
4.1
Governance structure of the organization
Indicate whether the Chair of the Board is also
4.2
an executive officer
4.3
Independent and/or non-executive Board members
Mechanisms for shareholders and employees to
4.4
p
­ rovide recommendations to the Board
Compensation for Board members, senior managers,
4.5
and executives
4.6
Processes for avoiding conflicts of interest in the Board
Process for determining the competence of the Board
4.7
members
4.8
Mission, values, codes of conduct, and principles ­ elevant r Procedures for the Board assessment of organization´s
4.9
sustainability performance.
4.10
Processes for evaluating the Board´s own performance
Explanation of precautionary approach application by
4.11
the organization
4.12
Subscription to external sustainability principles
4.13
Memberships in advocacy organizations
4.14
List of stakeholder groups engaged
Basis for identification/selection of stakeholders
4.15
with whom to engage
4.16
Approaches to stakeholder engagement
Key topics and concerns that have been raised through
4.17
stakeholder engagement

54

Reference

AR p.04
S&CR p.02
AR p.149
S&CR p.50
GRI
AR p.08
AR p.08
AR p.177
AR p.47
AR p.134
AR p.47
AR p.55
AR p.08
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.08
S&CR p.i
GRI
AR p.63
AR p.174
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.54
S&CR p.56
AR p.132
GRI
AR p.144
AR p.136
GRI
AR p.96
AR p.142
AR p.132
AR p.132
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.07
S&CR p.07
S&CR p.07
S&CR p.07

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

GRI

Reporting element

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
EC 01 Direct economic value generated and distributed
EC 02 Risks and opportunities due to climate change
Coverage of the organization’s defined benefit plan
EC 03 ­obligations
Significant financial assistance received from
EC 04 ­governments
Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared
EC 05 to local minimum wage *
Policy, practices, and proportion of spending on
EC 06 ­locally-based suppliers
EC 07 Procedures for local hiring
Infrastructure investments and services provided
EC 08 ­ rimarily for public benefit p Significant indirect economic impacts, including the
EC 09 extent of impacts
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
EN 01 Materials used
Percentage of materials used that are recycled input
EN 02 materials
EN 03 Direct energy consumption
EN 04 Indirect energy consumption
Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency
EN 05 improvements *
Initiatives to provide energy-efficient or renewable
EN 06 energy based products *
EN 07 Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption*
EN 08 Total water withdrawal by source
Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of
EN 09 water *
Percentage and total volume of water recycled and
EN 10 reused *
Land owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to areas
EN 11 of high biodiversity value
Description of significant impacts of activities and
EN 12 ­ roducts on biodiversity p EN 13 Habitats protected or restored *
Strategies, current actions, and future plans for
EN 14 ­ anaging impacts on biodiversity * m Number of IUCN Red List species and national c ­ onservation list species with habitats in areas
EN 15 affected by operations *
EN 16 Total direct and indirect GHG gas emissions
EN 17 Other relevant indirect GHG gas emissions
EN 18 Initiatives to reduce GHG emissions *
EN 19 Emissions of ozone-depleting substances
EN 20 NO, SO, and other significant air emissions
EN 21 Total water discharge
EN 22 Total weight of waste
EN 23 Number and volume of significant spills
Weight of transported or treated waste deemed
EN 24 ­hazardous *
Water bodies and related habitats significantly affected
EN 25 by the reporting organization’s discharges of water *
Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of prodEN 26 ucts and services
Percentage of products sold and their packaging
EN 27 ­ aterials that are reclaimed by category m Monetary value of significant fines for non-compliance
EN 28 with environmental laws
Significant environmental impacts of transporting
EN 29 ­products
Total environmental protection expenditures and investEN 30 ments by type

Reference
AR p.108
AR p.50
AR p.83
GRI
AR p.96
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.42
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.35
S&CR p.35
S&CR p.35
S&CR p.26
S&CR p.26
GRI NM
GRI NM
GRI NM
GRI NM
GRI NM
GRI NM
GRI NM

GRI NM
S&CR p.35
S&CR p.35
S&CR p.26
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.35
GRI
GRI
GRI
S&CR p.26
S&CR p.35
GRI
S&CR p.35
GRI
GRI

GRI Index
GRI

Reporting element

SOCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Human rights Performance Indicators
Percentage and number of significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that
HR 01 have undergone human rights screening
Percentage of significant suppliers and contractors that have undergone screening on human rights and
HR 02 actions taken
Hours of employee training on policies and procedures
HR 03 concerning aspects of human rights *
HR 04 Number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken
Operations identified in which the right to exercise f ­ reedom of association and collective bargaining may be at significant risk, and actions taken to support
HR 05 these rights
Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of child labor, and measures taken to contribute
HR 06 to the elimination of child labor
Operations identified as having significant risk for i ­ncidents of forced or compulsory labor, and measures to contribute to the elimination of forced or compulsory
HR 07 labor
Percentage of security personnel trained in policies or
HR 08 procedures concerning aspects of human rights
Number of incidents of violations involving rights of
HR 09 indigenous people and actions taken *
Labor Performance Indicators
Workforce by employment type, employment contract,
LA 01 and region
Number and rate of employee turnover by age group,
LA 02 gender and region
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees,
LA 03 by major operations *
Percentage of employees covered by collective barLA 04 gaining agreements
Minimum notice period(s) regarding operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective
LA 05 agreements
Percentage of total workforce represented in f ­ ormal joint management worker health and safety
LA 06 committees *
Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, absenteeism, and number of work related fatalities
LA 07 by region
Education, training, counseling, prevention, and risk-control programs to assist workforce members, their families, or community members regarding serious
LA 08 diseases *
Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements
LA 09 with trade unions *
Average hours of training per year per employee by
LA 10 employee category
Programs for skills management and lifelong learning
LA 11 that support the employability of employees *
Percentage of employees receiving regular perforLA 12 mance and career development reviews *

LA 13
LA 14

Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category
Ratio of basic salary of men to women by employee category Product responsibility
Life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of
PR 01 products are assessed for improvement
Number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning health and safety
PR 02 impacts *

Reference

GRI

PR 03
GRI

GRI
GRI
GRI

PR 04
PR 05
PR 06

PR 07

GRI

PR 08

GRI

PR 09

GRI
GRI
GRI

AR p.100
AR p.100

GRI
GRI

GRI

Reporting element

Reference

Type of product information required by procedures and percentage of significant products and services subject to such information requirements
Number of incidents of non-compliance with r ­ egulations and voluntary codes concerning product information *
Practices related to customer satisfaction *
Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and v ­ oluntary codes related to marketing communications
Number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning marketing
­communications *
Number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of c ­ ustomer data *
Monetary value of significant fines for non-compliance with laws concerning the provision and use of products and services

Society Performance Indicators
Programs and practices that assess and manage the
SO 01 impacts of operations on communities
Percentage and total number of business units
SO 02 ­ nalyzed for corruption risks a Percentage of employees trained in anti-corruption
SO 03 ­policies/ procedures
SO 04 Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption
Public policy positions and participation in public policy
SO 05 development and lobbying
Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to p ­ olitical parties, politicians, and related institutions
SO 06 by country *
Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices and
SO 07 their outcomes
Monetary value of significant fines and total number of
SO 08 non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with laws

GRI

GRI
GRI
GRI

GRI

GRI

GRI

GRI
AR p.49
AR p.149
S&CR p.11
GRI
GRI

GRI

AR p.51
GRI

GRI Disclosure at a glance

GRI Fully reported Partially reported Not material

S&CR p.25

Source: Ericsson

GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
GRI
AR p.144
AR p.152
AR p.96
GRI

GRI

Reference
S&CR Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report
AR
Annual Report
GC
Global Compact Report – Criterion
GRI
GRI disclosure 2014 (online)
Additional indicator
*
Degree of reporting
Fully reported
Partially reported
Not reported
NR
NA
Not applicable
NM
Not material
C
Confidential

GRI

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

55

Auditor’s Combined Assurance Report on Ericsson’s Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Report
To Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
Introduction
We have been engaged by the Executive Leadership Team of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (“Ericsson”) to perform an examination of the Ericsson Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility (CR) Report for the year 2014.
Responsibilities of the Board and Management
The Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team are responsible for the preparation of the Sustainability & CR Report in accordance with the applicable criteria, as explained on the inside front cover (page i) of the
Sustainability & CR Report, and are the parts of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (published by The Global Reporting Initiative, GRI) which are applicable to the Sustainability & CR Report, as well as the accounting and calculation principles that the Company has developed. This responsibility includes the internal control relevant to the preparation of a Sustain­ ability & CR Report that is free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.
Responsibilities of the Auditor
Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on the Sustainability & CR
Report based on the procedures we have performed.
We conducted our engagement in accordance with RevR 6 Assurance of Sustainability Reports issued by FAR, as well as AA1000AS (2008) issued by AccountAbility (type 2 engagement). The engagement includes a limited assurance engagement on the complete Sustainability & CR
Report and audit of carbon dioxide emissions data regarding Ericsson’s own activities on page 27 and 35.
The objective of an audit is to obtain reasonable assurance that the information is free of material misstatements. A reasonable assurance engagement includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the quantitative and qualitative information in the Sustainability & CR Report.
A limited assurance engagement consists of making inquiries, primarily of persons responsible for the preparation of the Sustainability & CR Report, and applying analytical and other limited assurance procedures. Hence, the conclusion based on our limited assurance procedures does not comprise the same level of assurance as the conclusion of our reasonable assurance procedures. Since this assurance engagement is combined, our conclusions regarding the reasonable assurance and the limited assurance procedures will be presented in separate sections.
Our procedures are based on the criteria defined by the Board of
Directors and the Executive Leadership Team as described above. We consider these criteria suitable for the preparation of the Sustainability &
CR Report.
In accordance with AA1000AS (2008), we confirm that we are independent of Ericsson. Our review has been performed by a multidisciplinary team specialized in reviewing economic, environmental and social issues in Sustainability & CR reports, and with experience from the Information and Communication Technology sector.

We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusions below.
Conclusions
Based on the limited assurance procedures we have performed, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the Sustainability
& CR Report is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the criteria defined by the Board of Directors and Executive Leadership
Team, including adherence to the AA1000APS (2008) principles inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness.
In our opinion the information in the Sustainability & CR Report which has been subject to our reasonable assurance procedures have, in all material respects, been prepared in accordance with the criteria defined by the Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team.
Other information
The following is other information that has not affected our conclusion above. According to AA1000AS (2008), we have included observations and recommendations for improvements in relation to adherence to the
AA1000APS (2008) principles:
Regarding inclusivity
We acknowledge that Ericsson has an inclusive approach to managing key Sustainability & CR risks, and has conducted several stakeholder engagement exercises during the year. We note that Ericsson has documented the stakeholder engagement process for the area of Sustainability
& CR in a new group level instruction, and has further developed and implemented stakeholder engagement guidance with particular focus on human rights. We have no specific recommendations regarding inclusivity.
Regarding materiality
We note that Ericsson in 2014 has continued to update and successfully deploy the documented process for assessing material sustainability topics, taking into account relevant new input from stakeholders and various frameworks. While the results of the materiality assessment are clearly presented in the Sustainability & CR Report, we encourage Ericsson to also consider publishing further details on how the actual assessment is carried out, such as a summary of the internal materiality assessment instructions. Regarding responsiveness
We recognize that Ericsson has a well-established practice of responding in a relevant and constructive manner to significant stakeholder concerns.
We appreciate that Ericsson has made significant progress in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and has adopted a transparent approach in this work, including pioneering the recently released UNGP Reporting Framework. We have no specific r ­ ecommendations regarding responsiveness.

Stockholm, March 23rd 2015
PricewaterhouseCoopers AB

Peter Nyllinge

Fredrik Ljungdahl

Authorised Public Accountant

Expert Member of FAR

000-150

56

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

Ericsson employee volunteers in Kista, Sweden engaged in the Ebola response.

engage with us
This report and additional content can be found at www.ericsson.com/­ ustainability, including more s comprehensive information on Global Reporting
Initiative indicators.

Ericsson Sustainability and
CR report

Blog Technology for Good™ blog

Facebook/technologyforgood

If you are interested in learning more or continuing the ­ onversation, we also welcome you to engage c with us via our Technology for Good™ social media channels and websites below.

twitter@ericssonsustain

Technology for Good™ photos

Ericsson Annual Report

LinkedIn

Technology for Good™ videos

Below are a selection of videos highlighting Technology for Good™. Additional partner and customer cases can be found online.

Connecting the Amazon

Facebook + Internet.org

Maersk: Mobility at sea

Remote schooling in Bhutan

Humanitarian response

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

57

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
SE-164 83 Stockholm, Sweden www.ericsson.com 58

Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014

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