As a leading international provider of information and communications technology (ICT) solutions, whose ICT products, solutions and services are used in over 170 countries and regions across the globe, Huawei strives to effectively address the safety challenges presented by ICT products and services, delivering safe and reliable products to customers and consumers.
This case study is based on the 2016 Sustainability Report by Huawei published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate that CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly is achieved by identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment and stakeholders and by measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract As users of ICT services and products are increasingly concerned about product safety, Huawei has developed strict product safety standards and systems Tweet This!, focusing on areas such as reducing electromagnetic and laser radiation, and increasing electrical safety. In order to ensure product safety Huawei took action to: What are the material issues the company has identified? In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei identified a range of material issues, such as broadband inclusion for all, compensation and benefits for employees, actively responding to cyber security challenges, green products and services, communications for all. Among these, ensuring product safety stands out as a key material issue for Huawei. Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows: Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly. Key stakeholder groups Huawei engages with: · Customer meetings · Huawei Fan Club (for consumers) · Participation in audits, surveys, and collaborative projects on sustainability (e.g., joint audits with the ICT industry’s Joint Audit Cooperation [JAC]) · Employee surveys (e.g., organizational climate survey) · Manager feedback process · Supplier contracts and questionnaires · Supplier training sessions and conferences (e.g., the Huawei Global Supplier Sustainability Conference) · Inputs to government standards and consultations · Governmental and inter-governmental conferences · Participation in government projects (e.g., green projects of the Chinese government) Associations · Industry standards workshops · Publication of research reports (e.g., the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report ) · Attending conferences organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and inviting them to attend Huawei’s conferences · Meetings on specific issues of mutual concern · Responding to requests for information · Specific events for the media and opinion leaders in key markets (e.g., the Huawei Global Analyst Summit) · Inviting the media and opinion leaders to attend Huawei’s events · Engagement through social media Academia · Participation in events How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues To assess and prioritize material issues, identifying issues of highest concern to the company’s stakeholders, Huawei asked, through surveys, multiple stakeholders to rank issues according to importance. In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for ensuring product safety: Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed? The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories References: 1) This case study is based on published information by Huawei, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link: http://database.globalreporting.org/ 2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page 3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx 4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/ Note to Huawei: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.Stakeholder Group
Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers
· Customer satisfaction surveys
Employees
· Meetings with employee representatives
Suppliers
· Supplier meetings and audits
Governments
· Government policy meetings
Industry/Standards
· Industry forums and working groups (e.g., ITU, GeSI, EICC, and QuEST Forum)
NGOs and Communities
· Participation in community projects
Media and Opinion Leaders
· Individual meetings and interviews
Research Institutes/
· Joint research projects and technology collaboration (e.g., cooperating with a research institute on the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report)
What actions were taken by Huawei to ensure product safety?