ABB has been named #8 in Fortune magazine’s “Change the World” rankings for the company’s efforts to speed up adoption of clean-energy electric transportation. The list, Fortune said, honors companies that “have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.”
In naming ABB to the top 10 in its fourth annual ranking, Fortune placed the company among a prestigious group. Other honorees included the drug maker Merck, for use of its life-saving vaccine against the Ebola virus this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fortune also lauded Reliance Jo, a telecommunications provider for providing the “digital oxygen” of smartphones and broadband to more than 200 million subscribers in India in less than two years.
ABB’s CEO, Ulrich Spiesshofer said the Fortune ranking was validation of the company’s leadership and commitment to e-mobility as a way to decouple global economic growth from climate change.
“ABB is committed to running the world without consuming the earth,’’ Spiesshofer said.
ABB, whose e-mobility portfolio includes charging and power solutions for trains, buses and ships, has developed fast-chargers for cars that can add as much as 200 kilometers (nearly 125 miles) of cruising range in as little as 8 minutes.
‘‘As electric vehicles have grown more popular, ” Fortune wrote, “ABB has installed over 7,000 fast charging stations worldwide—saving about 2 million gallons of gasoline over the past seven years. The charging business has posted double-digit annual revenue growth since 2015. Next up: a plan with Electrify America to place hundreds of charging stations in the U.S. in the next year. ”
Fortune’s criteria for its “Change the World” rankings include the degree of innovation in a company’s technologies and the benefits to profitability and shareholder value from its positive social impact.
In the second quarter, ABB reported more than 30 percent year-over-year growth in net income, to $681 million, as revenue grew to $8.889 billion.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner in ABB Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
