Employee competition in the area of Corporate Responsibility
Best practice in corporate responsibility
Siemens is answering the toughest questions of our time. To drive this effort, company employees around the world are not only mastering technological challenges but also implementing projects that will help provide long-term solutions to major social problems. To honor the individuals and teams who are helping Siemens fulfill its commitment to the environment, society and business success, the company launched an international company-wide competition for Corporate Responsibility in 2007.
The winner and finalists in 2008
In 2008, we took our CR competition for employees one step further than in 2007 and intensified the competition’s focus on developing nations and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. This year, we looked for the project making the biggest contribution to the economy and society of a developing country while increasing Siemens’ long-term business success.
Three projects made it to the final round. The winner, the OSRAM project "Energy for all" was announced at a meeting of Siemens’ top international management in October 2008.
Umeme Kwa Wote – Energy for all
The winning team from OSRAM has launched a pilot project in Kenya to develop a profitable business model for bringing ecofriendly electricity to areas with inadequate infrastructures. Solar-powered battery-charging stations supply power for lamps and other electrical devices. And since electricity can be used to provide clean drinking water – a rare commodity in many remote areas – the solar stations are killing two birds with one stone.
Umeme Kwa Wote (in the Sustainable Development chapter)
This is one of the Sanjeevan Mobile Clinics. The bus brings medical care to people who otherwise would have to walk many miles for any kind of treatment.
Sanjeevan Mobile Clinics – Hospitals on wheels
A team from Siemens India is bringing basic medical care to people who would otherwise have to walk miles to the nearest healthcare facility. The “hospitals on wheels” not only carry medical systems – for example, X-ray, ultrasound, mammography and EKG devices; they also provide local inhabitants with healthcare training.
Sanjeevan Mobile Clinics (in the Sustainable Development chapter)
Rural Centers of Medical Excellence – High-tech for remote areas
In China a Siemens team is developing a model to provide medical services in rural areas where healthcare facilities are often hopelessly antiquated and medical personal is poorly trained. The project highlights our company’s ability to provide cost-effective solutions tailor-made to the needs of outlying regions.
Siemens Rural Centers of Medical Excellence (in the Sustainable Development chapter)
The winner and finalists in 2007
The 2007 competition focused on finding solutions to social problems. The projects submitted testify to a wealth of creative ideas and potential benefits. Working across borders and disciplines, competitors leveraged Siemens solutions, know-how, networks and partnerships in a variety of ways to develop practical measures and solutions.
Five entries made it to the final round. From these, the jury selected the winning team.
Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher (left) presents the team of Siemens Water Technologies, Australia, with the top CR Award 2007.
The Safe Water Kiosk
The Safe Water Kiosk – an efficient, reliable and cost-effective system for providing clean drinking water in undeveloped areas – was successfully introduced in Kenya by Rhett Butler and his team of Siemens Water Technologies, Australia.
Engineer training in Mexico
In cooperation with public authorities and universities, Siemens’ former VDO Division succeeded in significantly improving the training of engineers in Mexico. The project is helping ensure that the country will have a steady supply of well-qualified engineers in the future.
Working together for the benefit of society
In close partnership with the United Way – one of North America’s leading charities – a team of volunteers from Siemens’ Medical Solutions Group in the U.S. raised a record $705,993 for charitable purposes in 2006.
Volunteers from Siemens' former Medical Solutions Group in the U.S. have spent a big part of their leisure time to collect money for needy people.
Working together for the benefit of society (in the Corporate Citizenship chapter)
Integrating people with disabilities into the workplace
A partnership between mdexx and Martinshof, a sheltered workshop in Bremen, Germany, is making an important contribution to the integration of disabled people into the working environment and to their professional and social recognition. Fully integrated into mdexx processes, disabled individuals have been working side-by-side with Siemens employees for more than ten years.
Health-e Child
A team of Siemens employees and partners worked together in an EU-supported project to develop a Europe-wide information platform in the area of pediatric medicine. The platform enables hospitals, research institutes and companies to share their diagnostic and therapeutic know-how.
Related Links
Publication on the CR-Award 2007
With the support of Siemens, brand eins Wissen has published the paperback "Commitment wears many faces", which explores the concept of corporate responsibility and explores the projects submitted by the finalists of the Siemens Corporate Responsibility Awards 2007.