Huawei recently released its 2017 Sustainability Report demonstrating the initiatives undertaken in the year across four areas: Bridging the Digital Divide; Supporting Network Stability and Security and Protecting Privacy; Promoting Environmental Protection; and Building a Healthy Ecosystem. Over the past year, Huawei has actively benchmarked its operations against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to achieve its strategic goals in sustainability.
“At Huawei we wish to leverage our expertise to build a sustainable, fully connected, and intelligent world. We see a future where every person, home and organization enjoys the benefits of innovation and connection,” said Huawei Chairman Dr. Howard Liang. “As we encourage more inclusive and sustainable global economic growth, we sincerely hope to contribute more to our world and the future.”
ICT technologies have become a key enabler of global sustainability. As part of Huawei’s contribution to sustainable development, it continues to increase its R&D investment, innovate in ICT, and bring the fruits of this innovation to more people.
In 2017, Huawei’s innovative WTTx solution helped resolve last-mile access issues in both densely populated cities and sparsely populated rural areas. This solution reduces connectivity costs by 75% and makes network roll-out 90% faster. The company also deployed RuralStar 2.0, a solution for rural networks, for 12 carriers in eight countries, including Thailand, Ghana, and Mexico. This solution helps increase network coverage in rural areas, allowing more people, especially those in under-developed regions, to access the online world. Huawei’s Mobile Money solution enables carriers and banks to deliver innovative, reliable mobile banking services without adding too much to their asset base. It has been deployed in 19 countries and serves over 152 million users. This solution makes financial services simpler and more accessible, driving financial inclusion.
“We actively benchmark our operations against best industry practices to keep ourselves up-to-date. We now intend to set more aggressive goals and pursue innovation in sustainability practices, as this can help improve the sustainability of the whole industry,” said Kevin Tao, Board Member and Chairman of Huawei’s Sustainable Development Committee, when discussing Huawei’s future plans for sustainability.
“The road to sustainability must be one of openness and growth for the whole ecosystem. Only in this way can businesses generate commercial value sustainably and share success with other industry players,” Tao said.
The report by Huawei was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Huawei engaged Bureau Veritas, an external assurance provider, to verify the reliability, fairness, and transparency of the report.
Huawei has been operating in Sri Lanka for last 12 years and is a top ICT company in Sri Lanka. At present, Huawei had achieved to become the main ICT solution provider in Sri Lanka, whilst Huawei developed network is serving 70% of the population in the country. Huawei is also the top smartphone provider in Sri Lanka, with a significant market share. The Company is very proud to provide high-quality products and services to all operators, and Huawei smartphones are welcomed by Sri Lanka consumers. As a responsible corporate citizen, Huawei is committed and has made significant contributions to bridging the digital divide in Sri Lanka and aims to drive long-term economic, social, and environmental sustainability to enrich Sri Lankan lives. Huawei launched the ‘Seeds For the Future’ program in 2016, 2017 and sponsored 10 university students every year to ICT study trip in Huawei Headquarters in China further nurturing Sri Lanka ICT talent. As a responsible company Huawei actively give back to local community through aid such as disaster relief donations.
The 2017 Sustainability Report can be found at:
http://www.huawei.com/en/about-huawei/sustainability/sustainability-report