Ericsson achieves global environmental registration

Ericsson reached a major milestone on Thursday, December 13, with the formal presentation of the first global environmental registration from the British Standards Institution (BSI). The company was presented with BSI's first-ever worldwide ISO 14001 certification, which confirms Ericsson's commitment to combining excellent business practices with environmental leadership.

This global 'first' was presented at Ericsson's London office by James Azim, BSI's global development manager, to Martin Davies, Ericsson's global environmental project manager.

ISO 14001 is the internationally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), and this certification marks the first time that a company receives one BSI certificate for ISO 14001 encompassing worldwide operations, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing.

"The way we have developed our EMS enables Ericsson to clearly identify our environmental impacts, set goals and manage performance against those targets," says Lars Goran Bernau, Ericsson's Director of Sustainability and Environment. "This provides key management information, not tied to any specific organizational structure."

In 1999, Ericsson made the decision to expand the scope of the EMS companywide - to cover all global operations - manufacturing and non-manufacturing. It was determined that real environmental contributions will come from the involvement and commitment of all employees.

Nick Moy, managing director of BSI Management Systems, said: "Ericsson must be congratulated on this achievement. It endorses a commitment from Ericsson to continually improve the way it manages environmental issues, and its commitment to systematic and sustainable improvement."

The Global Environmental Management System provides key information for management. It systematically measures Ericsson's environmental impacts and ensures that environmental objectives are on track and met. By having a worldwide EMS, Ericsson is best able to identify the key environmental aspects of the operation and is then able to concentrate efforts to the areas where the greatest impact may be made.

The EMS was implemented with the help of a global intranet-based tool called the Workbook. The Workbook is a manual that describes, concretely, how to implement the EMS and how it can be integrated into existing management systems. At the same time, it also works as a tool to collect information. The use of The Workbook makes it possible to centrally track the progress of each regional company in multi-locations and also the regional companies may share best practices and to establish a cohesive team, dedicated to achieving the environmental goals.

This certification milestone confirms Ericsson's commitment to combining excellent business practices with environmental leadership. For additional details regarding the environmental program see web: http://www.ericsson.com/sustainability

Ericsson is shaping the future of mobile and broadband internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

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