'Sustainable Business Exchange': A Virtuous Cycle for EU Business

Brussels (ots/PRNewswire) -

Businesses operating in Europe will be joining forces to become
leading contributors to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 'Sustainable Business Exchange', launched today in Brussels at a
conference hosted by CSR Europe in cooperation with Huawei, will help
companies turn circular and inclusive approaches into sustainable
economic growth.

Initiated by CSR Europe, the leading European Business Network for
Corporate Social Responsibility, the campaign empowers companies to
take action and adopt sustainable growth models. It fosters business
engagement with communities, cities and regions, as well as with each
other, with a view to contributing to the global sustainability
agenda and making sustainability a driver for growth in Europe.

"Through CSR Europe's new programme, we aim to leverage the impact
of over 10 000 companies in our network in order to address common
challenges, promote the adoption of transformative business models
and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals," said CSR
Europe's Executive Director Stefan Crets. "This cannot be done purely
by the private sector, and so we will also engage stakeholders from
civil society, governments and academia to increase this impact by
working together. It is time for Europe to take action to address
societal and sustainability issues, and we believe that the SDGs
offer a common language in order to achieve this."

The UN's sustainability goals, announced last year together with
the Paris Agreement, were at the heart of debates at the 2016 edition
of the Sustainability & Innovation Conference Series where the
'Sustainable Business Exchange' was announced. Conference
participants looked at how to effectively put these goals into
practice. Global ICT leader Huawei, co-organiser of the conference,
welcomed the initiative and stressed the importance of creating
shared value to achieve the global goals. Technologies have
significantly increased resource utilisation efficiency and will keep
playing a meaningful role in driving forward the sustainable
development agenda. Goals around education, health, sustainable
cities and communities as well as climate change particularly
resonate and the company is determined to play its part in achieving
its ambitious objectives.

"To live up to our responsibility as a leading provider of ICT
solutions, we have designed a sustainability management system that
mainstreams CSR concerns into everything we do," underscored Alan
Aicken, Vice-President of the Procurement Department and Chief
Sustainability Officer of Global Supplier Sustainability at Huawei.
"Geared towards achieving the global sustainability objectives
spelled out by the UN, and relying on constant improvement, sharing
expertise and working together with public and private partners, it
dovetails with the approach of the new 'Sustainable Business
Exchange'. We look forward to further stepping up our cooperation
with European partners through this new framework."

In practice, companies can join the 'Sustainable Business
Exchange' in two ways:

- A learning network will help them embrace the circular economy,
rethinking the value chain and fostering innovative partnerships
and business models, as well as sustainable consumption and
production.
- An SDG Incubator will facilitate pilot projects between companies,
civil society and governments, to drive business contribution to
the SDGs and tackle common challenges.

At a European level, efforts to address the e-skills challenge are
a top priority. Huawei has been acting to help close this gap
together with European partner universities through its international
training programme, Seeds for the Future. The company selects top
students for a study trip to China to get exposure to the latest
technologies and be immersed in a global work environment. In Europe,
27 countries are involved so far, and more than 700 young people have
participated since the programme's European launch in 2011. By 2020,
over 2500 European students will benefit from the programme.

Sustainable Business Exchange: find out more
(http://www.csreurope.org/innovate-peers/sustainable-living-cities)

About CSR Europe

CSR Europe is the leading European business network for Corporate
Social Responsibility. Through its network of around 50
(http://www.csreurope.org/corporate-members) corporate members
(http://www.csreurope.org/corporate-members) and 45 National CSR
organisations
(http://www.csreurope.org/national-partner-organisations), it gathers
over 10 000 companies, and acts as a platform for those businesses
looking to enhance sustainable growth and positively contribute to
society. In its mission to bring the CSR agenda forward, CSR Europe
goes beyond European borders and cooperates with CSR organisations in
other regions across the world.

Further information is available at http://www.csreurope.org

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global information and communications
technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to build a better
connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen,
innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative
contributor to the industry. Huawei's 170 000 employees worldwide are
committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators,
enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and
services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving
over one-third of the world's population.

Huawei currently has over 10 000 staff based in Europe, of whom 1
570 are working in R&D. We run 18 R&D organisations located in eight
European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Sweden and the UK) and operate numerous joint innovation
centres in partnership with telecom and ICT partners.

Further information is available at http://www.huawei.eu

ots Originaltext: Huawei
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Claudia Ju
Media Relations Director
juxinhang@huawei.com
+32-479-80-14-30

Original-Content von: Huawei, übermittelt durch news aktuell