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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
10.26.2006 - 08:20am ET
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Xerox Releases Its First Global Citizenship Report, Announces $1 Million Grant for Forest Improvement
Report aims to demonstrate that "good business and good values are not only compatible but synergistic"
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STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2006--Consistent with a
long-standing legacy in social responsibility that's articulated today in
the company's first global citizenship report, Xerox Corporation (NYSE:
XRX) is joining The Nature Conservancy in a new partnership toimprove
management of global forests, the source of raw material for paper.
The announcement of a $1 million grant to the Conservancy from The
Xerox Foundation coincides with the release of Xerox's 2006 Report on
Global Citizenship, a comprehensive summary of the company's citizenship
practices and policies, recent accomplishments and goals.
The 70-page report brings together for the first time data on the
company's environmental performance; workplace policies; and corporate,
customer and social practices. Called "Revealing Our True Colors," it
covers topics including ethics and governance, customer privacy and
satisfaction, employee diversity and development, environmental
initiatives, philanthropy and volunteerism, and more.
"In a world of necessarily complex and varied metrics, one stands
taller than all the rest. Each generation of Xerox people strives to leave
the company, the communities in which we do business, and the world at
large better than we found it. We all feel that we are part of an ongoing
experiment to demonstrate that good business and good values are not only
compatible but synergistic," said Anne Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and chief
executive officer, in the report's letter to stakeholders.
As the world's largest distributor of cut-sheet paper, Xerox respects
its responsibility to foster sustainable development by using paper wisely
and protecting forest resources. With the $1 million grant and expertise
from Xerox, The Nature Conservancy - one of the world's most respected
conservation organizations - will:
-- Launch an online forest database for Canada's boreal forest.
-- Strengthen third-party forest certification standards, which Xerox
relies on to ensure paper comes from responsibly managed forests.
-- Identify best forest biodiversity management practices and
communicate them with forest managers, paper suppliers and others.
The goal: far-reaching benefits for Canadian forests and others
worldwide. The partnership is in addition to Xerox's current initiatives
that minimize environmental impact, such as developing paper with 100
percent recycled content, designing printers and copiers with duplex
printing features, and investing in digital imaging and workflow tools
that help customers reduce their dependency on paper.
Other initiatives detailed in the report include:
-- Xerox's recent adoption of the Electronic Industry Code of
Conduct, which identifies appropriate standards of conduct for companies
that do business in the electronics industry. Xerox's comprehensive ethics
and compliance program starts with a Global Code of Conduct for all
employees and is integrated into all business operations worldwide.
-- Customers' privacy rights and Xerox's compliance and activities
with global regulations including the European Directive on Data
Protection, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents
Act of Canada, and the U.S. Information Protection Act.
-- Programs that support sustainable development, such as the "clean
tech" research initiative at the company's Palo Alto Research Center, and
innovations in solid ink color printing, which eliminate print cartridges
and generate about 90 percent less waste than laser printers.
-- Actions Xerox continues to take to nurture a greener world, such
as product remanufacturing and recycling, which diverted 107 million
pounds of material from landfills in 2005; engineering all eligible Xerox
products to meet ENERGY STAR efficiency criteria; and reducing Xerox's
global greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent by 2012 from a 2002
baseline.
-- U.S. employee diversity representation and the steps Xerox takes
to foster a global culture of inclusion, along with how the company
supports employees through benefits and flexible work arrangements. About
6,500 - 20 percent - of Xerox's U.S. employees now work from "virtual"
offices.
-- Contributions to the communities where Xerox people work and live
through philanthropy, educational programs and employee volunteerism. The
report highlights several global examples of Xerox's community outreach
activities including its Social Service Leave program, which grants
selected employees up to one year of paid leave to work full-time for a
nonprofit agency, and the Vila Olimpica, a program in Brazil for
underserved children, giving more than 1,500 children a year the
opportunity to learn and play Olympic sports.
Looking ahead, Xerox said it plans to develop a human rights policy in
the next year that aligns with the company's core values, which are the
underlying principles of how Xerox runs its business anywhere around the
world. And having met the requirements of the European Union's July 2006
Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive, Xerox now plans to deliver
RoHS-compliant products to worldwide markets by the end of 2007.
"Like most things in business, corporate responsibility is a race
without a finish line. As good as we may be today, we have to be even
better tomorrow - and not by a little, but by a lot," Mulcahy said.
Xerox relied on the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines to
determine the content and performance metrics for its 2006 Report on
Global Citizenship. It also consulted with Business for Social
Responsibility, a nonprofit that works to advance the field of corporate
social responsibility, to help determine the report's relevance,
completeness and responsiveness to stakeholders.
Customer Contact:
For more information about Xerox's environmental and citizenship
activities, and to view the full Report on Global Citizenship, visit www.xerox.com/citizenship.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Visit www.xerox.com/news for more
informationabout Xerox and its partnership with The Nature Conservancy and
to hear an interview with Patricia Calkins, vice president of Xerox
Environment, Health and Safety.
XEROX(R) is a trademark of XEROX CORPORATION. ENERGY STAR and the
ENERGY STAR mark are registered U.S. marks.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5258389
Copyright Business Wire 2006
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