What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2020 Sustainability Report Huawei identified a range of material issues, such as climate change/ carbon emission reduction, cyber security and privacy protection, circular economy, renewable energy. Among these, promoting sustainability across its supply chain 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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers and Consumers	·      Customer satisfaction surveys ·      Customer meetings ·      Huawei Fan Club for consumers ·      Customer audits, surveys, and joint projects
Employees	·      Employee surveys (e.g. organisational climate surveys) ·      Manager Feedback Programme (MFP) ·      Meetings with employee representatives ·      Reflection sessions ·      Hotlines and public email addresses for filing complaints, providing suggestions, reporting misconduct, and making an appeal ·      Open Days with managers and experts
Suppliers and partners	·      Supplier sustainability audits ·      Supplier conferences ·      Supplier training ·      Joint sustainability programmes
Governments	·      Meetings on government policies ·      Governmental public consultations ·      Government and inter-government conferences ·      Governmental sustainability programmes
NGOs, industry organisations, and specialist agencies	·      Industry conferences, forums, and work groups ·      Standards conferences ·      Joint sustainability programmes ·      Academic research programmes
Media	·      Press conferences ·      Exclusive interviews ·      Inviting the media to conferences and events
Communities	·      Local employment and procurement ·      Participation in community projects ·      Holding charity events ·      Interaction through Huawei’s websites and social media platforms

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Huawei engaged with its stakeholders through stakeholder surveys.

What actions were taken by Huawei to promote sustainability across its supply chain?

In its 2020 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability across its supply chain:

• Promoting environmental sustainability
• Huawei has incorporated environmental requirements into its procurement strategy and processes. Environmental factors are considered during supplier qualification, selection, review, performance management, and in selection of materials. In addition to complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, Huawei is also building a competitive and green supply chain by offering proper incentives to suppliers. In 2020, Huawei encouraged its top 100 suppliers to calculate their carbon emissions, set carbon emission reduction targets, develop plans, and implement programmes. By the end of 2020, all the top 100 suppliers had calculated their carbon emissions. 93 suppliers had set targets for reducing emissions, and were implementing their emission reduction programmes. The remaining 7 suppliers were also making progress. Total carbon emissions by Huawei’s suppliers generated in the course of working with Huawei in 2020 were about 12.46 million tons, down 300,000 tons compared with 2019.

• Implementing a Supplier CSR Agreement
• Huawei requires that all suppliers sign and abide by its Supplier CSR Agreement. This agreement covers areas like labour standards, safety and health, environmental protection, business ethics, and management systems. Huawei sees the use of child labour or forced labour as a red line issue, and regards compliance in this respect as a prerequisite for supplier qualification. Huawei has zero tolerance for violations of CSR red lines, and will immediately terminate relationships with any supplier that breaches these rules. In furtherance of its goal of sustainable procurement, Huawei also regularly delivers CSR training to all procurement staff. This training covers procurement CSR agreements, red lines, processes, and audit practices. CSR requirements are incorporated into the performance indicators of all teams in Huawei’s procurement department.

• Auditing suppliers
• Huawei adopts a risk-based approach to supplier audits and every year audits all major suppliers. Combined, these suppliers represent 90% or more of Huawei’s procurement spending. Huawei assigns each supplier one of three risk ratings (high, medium, or low) after a comprehensive assessment of indicators such as procurement amount, material category, supplier locations, severity of CSR risks, and CSR score from the previous year. Huawei develops an annual sustainability audit plan to deal with suppliers that are assessed as posing a medium or high risk. Huawei performs onsite assessments on all potential suppliers to examine their sustainability systems, their capacity to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and the Supplier CSR Agreement, and their actual level of compliance. No company that fails the assessment is eligible for consideration to become a Huawei supplier. Huawei has developed its Supplier CSR Audit Checklist which references industry best practices and is adapted to the specific features of its suppliers. This checklist is regularly reviewed and updated. The CSR audit covers issues including prohibition of child labour, modern slavery, and forced labour; protection for underage workers; prevention of discrimination and punishment of employees; freedom of association; working hours; wages and benefits; fire control; safety and health; environmental protection; carbon emissions reduction; business ethics; and management of the CSR practices of tier-2 suppliers. Huawei conducts supplier CSR audits using internationally recognised methods, such as onsite inspections, employee interviews, management interviews, documentation reviews, and online searches, and uses the Blue Map developed by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to assess suppliers’ compliance with environmental requirements. Prior to audits, Huawei provides suppliers with coaching on CSR self-assessments. During audits, Huawei arranges for experts to work onsite with suppliers so that they can identify problems and suggest improvements. In 2020, Huawei assigned CSR risk ratings to more than 1,600 major suppliers, and conducted onsite audits on 319 suppliers, including new suppliers and current suppliers that posed medium or high risk. 116 of these suppliers were audited by third-party auditors. If Huawei discovers a problem during an onsite audit, it helps the supplier resolve the issue using the CRCPE methodology (check, root cause analysis, correct, prevent, evaluate). This methodology helps suppliers to identify common problems and develop targeted solutions.

• Appraising suppliers’ sustainability performance
• Every year, Huawei appraises suppliers’ overall performance based on their sustainability performance, onsite audit results, and improvements made. When Huawei appraises the sustainability performance of its suppliers, it takes into account how they manage their suppliers’ sustainability. Huawei encourages its suppliers to develop a CSR management system based on the IPC-1401 Supply Chain Social Responsibility Management System Guidance. Suppliers are classified into four grades (A, B, C, and D) based on their sustainability performance. The amount of business Huawei does with each supplier depends partly on their sustainability performance, which is also a factor considered in tendering, supplier selection, portfolio management, and other processes. Where other factors are equal, suppliers that perform well in sustainability are given a larger share of business or more business opportunities. The reverse is true for low-performing suppliers. Depending on the situation, Huawei may instruct suppliers with poor sustainability performance to resolve existing issues within a specified timeframe; or it may reduce their share of business or offer them fewer business opportunities; or it may even terminate its business relationships with those that display exceptionally poor performance.

• Providing training
• Huawei regularly provides sustainability training and coaching for its suppliers. Huawei asks its suppliers to adopt industry best practices and to embed sustainability requirements into their business strategies in order to reduce risk and boost their efficiency. Huawei is aware that each supplier brings unique experience and competencies to sustainability that may benefit their peers, so it encourages its suppliers to learn from each other and grow together through benchmarking. Based on its many years of experience, Huawei has developed a cost-effective and efficient “Learning by Benchmarking” model for suppliers. This model includes the following steps:
  • Setting priorities: Huawei asks suppliers about their CSR concerns, lists the most common issues, and ranks them in order of priority.
  • Identifying benchmarks: Huawei identifies which suppliers perform best, and analyses their best practices.
  • Sharing and learning: Huawei invites the benchmark suppliers to share their best practices, and encourages all suppliers to learn industry standards and norms.
  • Implementation: Huawei asks experts to develop templates and checklists, and helps suppliers assess their own performance and introduce best practices.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria

2) Disclosure 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken

3) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria

4) Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken

 

Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
• Targets: 5.2
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Targets: 8.8
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• Targets: 16.1

Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
• Targets: 5.2
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Targets: 8.8
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• Targets: 16.1

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

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 following link:

https://www-file.huawei.com/-/media/corp2020/pdf/sustainability/sustainability-report-2020-en.pdf

Note to Huawei: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

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, green products and services, supply chain sustainability management, product safety. Among these, promoting operational compliance 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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers	·      Customer satisfaction surveys ·      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])
Employees	·      Meetings with employee representatives ·      Employee surveys (e.g., organizational climate survey) ·      Manager feedback process
Suppliers	·      Supplier meetings and audits ·      Supplier contracts and questionnaires ·      Supplier training sessions and conferences (e.g., the Huawei Global Supplier Sustainability Conference)
Governments	·      Government policy meetings ·      Inputs to government standards and consultations ·      Governmental and inter-governmental conferences ·      Participation in government projects (e.g., green projects of the Chinese government)
Industry/Standards Associations	·      Industry forums and working groups (e.g., ITU, GeSI, EICC, and QuEST Forum) ·      Industry standards workshops ·      Publication of research reports (e.g., the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report )
NGOs and Communities	·      Participation in community projects ·      Attending conferences organised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and inviting them to attend Huawei’s conferences ·      Meetings on specific issues of mutual concern ·      Responding to requests for information
Media and Opinion Leaders	·      Individual meetings and interviews ·      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
Research Institutes/ Academia	·      Joint research projects and technology collaboration (e.g., cooperating with a research institute on the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report) ·      Participation in events

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Huawei carried out surveys among multiple stakeholders, who ranked topics according to importance.

What actions were taken by Huawei to promote operational compliance?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for promoting operational compliance:

• Fostering a culture of compliance
• Huawei continuously fosters a culture of compliance, both internally and externally, to make sure it can reinforce its compliance system. Thus, in 2016 Huawei shared its compliance concepts and achievements during several meetings with government agencies and partners and continues to implement an individual accountability mechanism to discipline acts of non-compliance, thereby gaining more benefits from its robust compliance culture.

• Building a global operational compliance system
• In 2016, Huawei went to great lengths to build an operational compliance system in its subsidiaries outside China. In terms of organisation, Huawei appointed and trained compliance officers for 97 countries and regions. In terms of business development, it engaged with world-class consultants, as part of its wider effort to promote compliance. For example, Huawei ran a pilot project in its German subsidiary, using Germany’s IDW PS 980 standards to comprehensively evaluate the maturity of the unit’s compliance management system. Huawei also established supervisory organisations in subsidiaries, to systematically oversee operational compliance and align the objectives of compliance management with corporate compliance strategy. All these efforts, helped Huawei’s subsidiaries operate in compliance with local laws and regulations.

• Protecting intellectual property rights
• Huawei respects the intellectual property rights (IPR) of others, complies with international IPR laws, and resolves IPR issues through negotiation, cross-licensing, and product cooperation in an open, positive and friendly manner. Additionally, Huawei employs legal means to protect itself against malicious infringements on its IPR. In 2016, Huawei became a member of over 360 standards organisations, industry alliances and open source communities, and holds over 300 positions of responsibility within these organisations.

• Showing zero tolerance for bribery and corruption
• Huawei adheres to all applicable laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which it operates as well as relevant international conventions, and has launched various activities to increase employee awareness of business ethics and legal compliance. For example, all employees are required to understand and sign its Business Conduct Guidelines (BCGs) and pass an online test on the subject every year, to increase their awareness of anti-bribery and anti-corruption efforts. Employees also receive training on the BCGs, with special training and awareness campaigns targeting staff in sales, procurement, and other key positions. In addition, to increase its positive influence on suppliers, Huawei includes strong ethical provisions in all contracts with suppliers, and requires them to understand and sign its Honesty and Integrity Agreement. Huawei has also established complaint channels through which employees and other parties can report unethical and illegal behaviour, and carries out compliance risk appraisals, to identify all potential risks and non-conformances.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

2) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

3) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

4) Disclosure 419-1 Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area

 

Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption 

Disclosure 419-1 Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

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 requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

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, product safety, actively responding to cyber security challenges, communications for all. Among these, reducing the carbon emissions of its products and solutions 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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers	·         Customer satisfaction surveys ·         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])
Employees	·         Meetings with employee representatives ·         Employee surveys (e.g., organizational climate survey) ·         Manager feedback process
Suppliers	·         Supplier meetings and audits ·         Supplier contracts and questionnaires ·         Supplier training sessions and conferences (e.g., the Huawei Global Supplier Sustainability Conference)
Governments	·         Government policy meetings ·         Inputs to government standards and consultations ·         Governmental and inter-governmental conferences ·         Participation in government projects (e.g., green projects of the Chinese government)
Industry/Standards Associations	·         Industry forums and working groups (e.g., ITU, GeSI, EICC, and QuEST Forum) ·         Industry standards workshops ·         Publication of research reports (e.g., the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report )
NGOs and Communities	·         Participation in community projects ·         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
Media and Opinion Leaders	·         Individual meetings and interviews ·         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
Research Institutes/ Academia	·         Joint research projects and technology collaboration (e.g., cooperating with a research institute on the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report) ·         Participation in events

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To assess and prioritise material topics, identifying those of highest concern to its stakeholders, Huawei engaged with stakeholders through surveys, asking them to rank topics according to importance.

What actions were taken by Huawei to reduce the carbon emissions of its products and solutions?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for reducing the carbon emissions of its products and solutions:

• Researching innovative energy-saving technologies
• Huawei researches ground-breaking energy-saving technologies, to support future network developments. Accordingly, it actively collaborates with universities and research institutes and made progress in several 5G areas, including Massive MIMO, network architecture, air interface and all-digital radio frequency technology. These technologies decrease end-to-end network costs, while increasing spectrum utilization and energy efficiency.

• Increasing the energy performance of networks
• Huawei seeks to boost the energy performance of customers’ networks through network modernisation, providing energy conservation solutions. It helps customers redesign networks according to actual conditions such as traffic distribution, networking characteristics and the power consumption of equipment and infrastructure. In addition, by means of low-power chips, efficient cooling of power supply, improved software design and dynamic energy management technologies, Huawei increased, in 2016, the energy efficiency of core routers and wireless base stations by 18% and 20%, compared to 2015.

• Promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction standards
• Through open collaboration, Huawei drives the research and development of energy conservation and carbon reduction standards across the ICT industry. In 2016, Huawei was an active member of and major contributor to the energy conservation and carbon reduction standards teams of ITU (International Telecommunication Union), ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and CCSA (China Communications Standards Association), submitting various proposals. These proposals relate to base stations, radio access networks, routers, servers, NFV, and circular economy in the ICT sector.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is:

Disclosure 302-5 Reductions in energy requirements of products and services

Disclosure 302-5 Reductions in energy requirements of products and services corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
• Business theme: Energy efficiency
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Energy efficiency
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Energy efficiency
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Business theme: Energy efficiency

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

 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 requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

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, promoting 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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers	·         Customer satisfaction surveys ·         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])
Employees	·         Meetings with employee representatives ·         Employee surveys (e.g., organizational climate survey) ·         Manager feedback process
Suppliers	·         Supplier meetings and audits ·         Supplier contracts and questionnaires ·         Supplier training sessions and conferences (e.g., the Huawei Global Supplier Sustainability Conference)
Governments	·         Government policy meetings ·         Inputs to government standards and consultations ·         Governmental and inter-governmental conferences ·         Participation in government projects (e.g., green projects of the Chinese government)
Industry/Standards Associations	·         Industry forums and working groups (e.g., ITU, GeSI, EICC, and QuEST Forum) ·         Industry standards workshops ·         Publication of research reports (e.g., the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report )
NGOs and Communities	·         Participation in community projects ·         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
Media and Opinion Leaders	·         Individual meetings and interviews ·         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
Research Institutes/ Academia	·         Joint research projects and technology collaboration (e.g., cooperating with a research institute on the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report) ·         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.

What actions were taken by Huawei to promote product safety?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for promoting product safety:

• Controlling electromagnetic radiation
• Huawei has, among others, a dedicated lab for testing the radiation levels of products (for example, mobile phones, tablets and wireless routers) and, also, works together with third-party verification organizations, to make sure that the company’s products comply with security laws and regulations in various countries.

• Improving electrical safety
• To improve the electrical safety of its products Huawei:
  • implements a systematic electrical safety assurance system
  • actively participates in standards initiatives by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
  • has a dedicated electrical safety lab certified by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS)
  • has strategic partnerships with major testing and certification organizations like UL, TÜV and ITS
  • carries out product design and testing according to international safety standards and separate national standards

• Promoting the safety of laser products
• To promote the safety of its laser products Huawei:
  • designs, tests and verifies all laser products according to the IEC 60825 security standards
  • has a dedicated laser safety lab for testing the safety of all laser products
  • makes sure that all laser products are certified by major international certification organizations like UL and TÜV

• Promoting safe product design
• Huawei’s ergonomic design team promotes safe product design, on the basis of real user scenarios. Ergonomic design is integrated into all phases of product planning, design, development and testing, to reduce health and safety risks.

• Reducing product noise
• To reduce the noise of a number of products Huawei – whose Environmental Acoustics Lab has achieved ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) – implements industry-leading noise simulation technology and redesigns product sizes and shapes, to minimize noise.

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

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

 

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.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report Huawei identified a range of material issues, such as integrity and operational compliance, product safety, communications for all, ICT application. Among these, realizing that the ICT industry will inevitably play a major role in addressing challenges such as climate change, pollution and resource shortages, developing eco-friendly products stands out as Huawei’s top material issue.

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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers	·         Customer satisfaction surveys ·         Onsite dialogues with customers concerning sustainability ·         Industry exhibitions and forums ·         Consumer surveys ·         Huawei Club
Employees	·         Communication with employee representatives ·         Employee well-being activities ·         Organizational climate surveys ·         Communication with the management and suggestion mailbox
Suppliers	·         Global Supplier Sustainability Conference ·         Supplier training and workshops ·         Supplier audits and appraisals
Governments	·         Cooperation on sustainability initiatives ·         Workshops ·         Policy communication meetings
Industry/Standards Associations	·         Industry forums and association activities ·         Standards workshops ·         Publication of research achievements
NGO	·         Sustainability conferences ·         Joint cooperation projects ·         Workshops
Media	·         Sustainability conferences ·         Media interviews
Research Institutes/ Academia	·         Workshops ·         Sustainability report ·         Cooperation on ICT training and development
Community groups	·         Regular meetings ·         Charitable donations ·         Training

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

By managing its material sustainability issues, Huawei can fully understand and prioritize stakeholders’ concerns and respond to them in a more comprehensive and transparent way. In addition, Huawei can effectively identify areas for improvement and optimize sustainability management.

To identify the issues most important to stakeholders, Huawei surveyed over 230 stakeholders in 2014, including customers, employees, suppliers, consumers, governments and NGOs. The survey was conducted through onsite interviews, phone calls and questionnaires. It elicited an extremely active response from stakeholders, with a response rate of 98%.

What actions were taken by Huawei to develop eco-friendly products?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report Huawei set the following targets for developing eco-friendly products, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Increasing the energy efficiency of wireless products

Through continuous innovation, Huawei has made huge breakthroughs in new power amplifier applications and new energy-saving technologies for LTE and HetNet (heterogeneous network). In 2014, Huawei increased the energy efficiency of its wireless products by nearly 23% compared to 2012 and sold energy-saving features and solutions to a huge number of carriers worldwide.

• Reducing the energy consumption of smartphones

A long battery life is crucial for smartphones. To save energy, a mobile phone must have a powerful chip. In 2014, Huawei launched the Kirin 920 and 925 chips, which boast leading octa-core big.LITTLE architecture and 28 nm technology. These chips ensure high performance while decreasing energy consumption. Coupled with Huawei’s smart energy-saving technology, they boost smartphones’ performance and battery life. Powered by the Kirin 925 chip, the battery of the Huawei Ascend Mate7 smartphone can last for over two days with ordinary use.

• Adopting the Quick-LCA methodology to assess the environmental impact of Huawei’s product design

In the ICT industry, Huawei is one of the leaders in ecological impact assessment and standardization, especially when it comes to ICT equipment lifecycle assessment (LCA) and mobile device eco-rating. In 2014, Huawei facilitated and contributed to the agreement between ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) on the environmental impact assessment methodology and standards for ICT products, networks and services. Huawei also played a crucial part in setting and promoting eco-rating standards for the mobile phone industry. Over the years, Huawei has been adopting the Quick-LCA methodology to assess the environmental impact of its product design. In 2014, Huawei expanded this methodology and combined key product ecological indicators to develop the EcoSmarT methodology that guides the product eco-design and development process.

• Assessing the water footprint of mobile phones

The product water footprint refers to the amount of freshwater consumed directly or indirectly throughout a supply chain to produce a product. It is a multidimensional indicator involving total water consumption, water source type, total pollution and pollution type. The product water footprint assessment is designed to evaluate the direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. It can be viewed as a comprehensive indicator for measuring water use. In cooperation with TUV SUD (an international certification organization) and based on industry standards, in 2014, Huawei developed its capabilities at analyzing the water footprint of device products. As a result, Huawei was able to assess the water footprint of two mobile phones. Huawei’s Honor 6 Plus became the world’s first mobile phone to be issued with a Product Water Footprint Verification Statement. Huawei is the first company to assess the water footprint of mobile phones and attaches great importance to water management and protection. Huawei’s efforts are conducive to promoting environmental protection in the mobile phone industry. Mobile phones are now an integral part of daily life. Therefore, Huawei mobile phones that feature the Product Water Footprint Verification Statement will greatly raise consumers’ environmental awareness and reshape their consumption habits. During product design and manufacturing, results of water footprint assessments are taken into account to maximize water utilization and minimize water consumption and pollution. In the future, Huawei will continue to adopt leading sustainability assessment methodologies and tools during its operations, product design, manufacturing and sales processes. Huawei aims to offer more eco-friendly products to consumers.

• Utilizing eco-friendly materials to reduce the environmental impact of products

Eco-friendly materials promise multiple benefits to minimize negative environmental impacts. At the beginning of the product lifecycle, eco-friendly materials can indirectly reduce resource consumption and environmental damage. At the end of the product lifecycle, they can minimize waste and reduce the amount of energy needed for waste disposal. Compared to traditional materials, eco-friendly materials can be applied more flexibly and on a larger scale. Huawei has enthusiastically explored and utilized new eco-friendly materials to reduce environmental impact to the greatest extent possible.

Use of Bioplastics: Huawei has used bioplastics in its mobile phones since 2013. Bioplastics are much more eco-friendly than traditional plastics because they are made from plant extracts rather than petroleum – a non-renewable energy source. Therefore, bioplastics can help greatly reduce environmental pollution and damage. In 2014, bioplastics were used in more Huawei products, including the G730, P7, Mate7 and Honor 6 Plus mobile phones. The bioplastics of each product contain over 10% of castor oil.

Soy Ink for Greener Printing: Soy ink contains a proportion of soy oil. It reduces reliance on petroleum, prints well and is much safer than traditional inks due to fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Products printed with soy ink are easy to de-ink, which enables packaging materials to be recycled. Huawei has extensively used soy ink in its device product packaging since January 2014.

• Using packaging materials that are eco-friendly, safe, reusable, renewable and meet sustainability requirements

At Huawei, compliance with environmental protection requirements has always been a top priority throughout the lifecycle of packaging materials, from selection and manufacturing to use and disposal. Huawei uses packaging materials that are eco-friendly, safe, reusable, renewable and that meet sustainability requirements. Huawei’s commitment to green packaging reduces both resource use and CO₂ emissions. Huawei has developed the green packaging strategy of “6R1D”: Right Packaging (the core), Reduce, Returnable, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery, and Degradable. In 2014, Huawei shipped a total of 247,193 units in green packaging, saving 44,164 m³ in wood and cutting CO₂ emissions by 19,130 tons.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:

1) G4-EN12: Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity

2) G4-EN27: Extent of impact mitigation of environmental impacts of products and services

3) G4-EN28: Percentage of products sold and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category– the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 301-3 Reclaimed products and their packaging materials

 

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.