Publication: 

ABB User Requirements for Sustainability Issues

Twenty-eight decisions-makers in ABB were interviewed during Q2 2003 to map the demands and requirements in the sustainability area. The results from the interviews have provided a lot of input that will be useful in the realization of ABB´s sustainability strategy. 

Results and conclusions

• The interviews show that there is, in general, good awareness and a positive attitude towards environmental and sustainability issues in the company.
• Communication of environmental performance to customers gives a possibility to strengthen the competitive edge. The large amount of environmental studies (e.g. LCA, EPD) conducted in ABB should therefore be used more in marketing & sales.
•  The results from the environmental studies have mainly been used in product development but are mostly too complex to be useful in market communication. It is therefore necessary to adapt these studies to be suitable also for ABB´s marketing functions.
• To conduct an environmental study demands special competence that is hard to maintain in ABB´s local organization. Easy accessible specialist competence could increase the number of performed studies and make the conducting process more cost efficient. This is in line with ABB´s new sustainability organization with a small group of environmental specialists at Corporate Research, managed by GF-SA and available to globally support all BAs. 
• There is a large demand for easy to use software tools and environmental knowledge that can be users. The Sustainability Toolbox established on inside.com (ABB Intranet) in the beginning of 2003 is a useful platform that fulfills these demands. 
• The knowledge about the Sustainability Tool Site should be spread not only to product management & development but also to marketing & sales and supply management functions in all BAs through information campaigns. 
• The demands and requirements from the interviewees are an important input to the EU founded DANTES project. The DANTES project will therefore contribute to accomplish the work outlined in the conclusions above.