Commitment to achieving our

environmental, health and safety

goals is an embedded value at GE.
We have created an EHS operating
system that drives compliance
with the law, continuously improves
our performance and measures our
actions against our words.
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Ofcer

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for taking an interest in our world-class

Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) programs.
We believe our role is to protect GEs license to
operate by pursuing compliance excellence globally;
to lead business units through cutting-edge risk
anticipation and management; and to defend GEs
brand integrity in the face of complex regulatory and
legacy challenges faced by the Company.
GE is a large, diversied global company with around 300,000
employees operating in 130 countries. We manufacture and
service everything from gas turbines and aircraft engines to hightech medical equipment and energy-efcient appliances.
But our unied EHS program has one set of common objectives
that we apply globally. In keeping with the programs pillars, we
expect all employees to:
comply with all applicable EHS laws and regulations, and, if
more stringent, GEs global EHS expectations;
create and maintain a safe work environment and protect our
employees, contractors and customers from being injured;
avoid harm to the environment by preventing spills and
emissions; by reducing toxic- and hazardous-chemical usage;
by recovering and recycling materials; and by conserving
energy and water wherever practical;

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
GEs EHS management system provides consistent
guidance to our diverse operations and regions. These
frameworks, in topic areas such as environmental
compliance, waste management and auditing, provide
clear expectations to our employees. They also foster
a spirit of teamwork and best-practice sharing across
the Company.

assess the EHS impacts of all new activities and products;

protect our Companys reputation.
EHS excellence is not possible without a strong company culture.
While this report often focuses on the tremendous efforts of
our Companys EHS professionals, at GE, EHS is everyones
responsibility and is embedded in how we work. We expect every
employee to own EHS, because it is the right thing to do for each
other, our communities, our business and our customers.
At GE, EHS excellence is a sign that everyone is doing his or
her job well.
Ann R. Klee
Vice President, Environment,
Health and Safety

SAFETY WORKS
Our employees health and safety are of utmost
importance as we tackle some of the worlds toughest
challenges. GEs 2012 Recordable Incident Rate was
0.95%, with a Days Away From Work Incident Rate
of 0.37% (both values as of January 2013). We also
foster open, two-way communication by responding
strongly to reported employee concerns and annual
EHS perception surveys. Finally, our health and safety
management system comprises multiple programs
aimed at addressing risk management and leading
indicatorsincluding building our portfolio of facilities
with either OSHA VPP recognition or our own Global
Star certication, and the introduction of Human and
Organizational Performance (HOP) practices within
our businesses.

BUSINESS ACCOUNTABILITY
All GE operating managers must own EHS. They are
expected to ensure that their activities are conducted
in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
These managers are trained in GEs expectations and
must report annually to corporate EHS leaders through
a review process called Session E. Establishing this
level of ownership is critical both to our overall EHS
performance and to our Company culture.
2

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

PROTECT

Our Expectations,
Our Performance
Sustaining and improving EHS performance requires
commitment at all levels of the Company; execution and
measurement of performance expectations; and rigorous
cross-business accountability processes. Our aim is to
continue to develop EHS as a core competency of the
Company, which requires program innovation as we grow
our presence in markets around the world.
How do we do it? Through operational ownership.
At GE we have instilled a culture in which EHS is part of everyones
job, with ultimate responsibility for performance residing with
business leaders, plant managers and service operations leaders.
Our Session E forums require each operating leader of a facility,
service team or other GE entity to report on performance,
challenges and paths forward to his or her business leadership
and to GEs corporate EHS leaders. Over time, this process has
driven a deep understanding ofand responsibility forEHS
excellence on the part of the decision-makers who fund, approve,
and set the tone and culture for our operations.

The results of employee surveys are another key discussion tool.

GE regularly seeks site-specic employee feedback through a
15 to 20-question anonymous survey. The results help management
understand strengths and weaknesses of programs. Survey
results indicate the degree to which trust and commitment have
been established among all members of the workforce, a key
leading gauge of performance excellence in GEs view.

DEVELOPING EHS CAPACITY IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN

GEs management of its supply chain integrity has focused on
several major themes over the last decade, including developing a
robust auditing program, phasing out select raw materials, tracking
conict metals, ensuring supply continuity of rare earth elements,
and tracking energy and water usage. We have also invested
resources in improving capacity in manufacturing-intensive regions.
Since 2006, GE has been working together with peer companies
and the Institute for Sustainable Communities to launch multiple
university-based locations for the Environment, Health and Safety
Academy in China. EHS managers and auditors also provide
instruction at the academies on a nonprot basis.
Additionally, in 2012, GE trained Ma Jun and several of his colleagues
at the widely respected watchdog group Institute of Public and
Environmental Affairs. Ma and the IPE team spent three full days in
training and then audited a GE facility. GE uses its deep technological
expertise to create a powerful EHS auditing system, Ma said.
Ma Jun (center)
at GEs training
for professionals

BUILDING BLOCKS TO EXCELLENCE

EHS excellence at GE relies on a management system that emphasizes
operational-level responsibility and accountability for performance while
helping build a strong Company culture. Here is a look at the building blocks
for these systems:
One GE

Anonymous EHS
perception survey
Session E review
Quarterly reports
to chairman

FEEDBACK
AND DATA
ANALYSIS

COMMON
GOALS AND
EXPECTATIONS

Global
Operational
Excellence

COMPLIANCE
ASSURANCE
500 facility and 3,300
supplier audits (2012)
100% of all ndings
required closed in
180 days

Detailed
frameworks and
tools for plant
managers
600 training classes
in 24 languages

WORLD-CLASS
MANAGEMENT
PROGRAMS

METRICS

Leading and lagging

indicators
Single Gensuite IT
platform

FOOTPRINT GOALS
At GE, ecomagination footprint-reduction goals are set, owned and operationalized by the EHS team. These goals continue to drive signicant internal progress,
including overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 29%, freshwater use
by 35% and energy intensity by 32% as of 2011. Companywide goals include:

50%

25%

25%

ENERGY

ABSOLUTE

FRESHWATER

INTENSITY

GHG EMISSIONS

LESS

LESS

LESS

CONSUMPTION

BY 2015

BY 2015

BY 2015

(2004 BASELINE)

(2004 BASELINE)

(2006 BASELINE)

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

PROTECT

Support People,
Communities, Assets
Our success in health and safety relies on effective crossbusiness management systems that establish performance
requirements at all levels, clear operational accountability,
best-in-class measurement and decision-making tools,
and training. The promotion of strong health and safety
performance across the Company extends beyond compliance
into excellence programs that create a culture of safety
and awareness.

OSHA VPP AND GE GLOBAL STAR

To promote health and safety excellence
throughout the Company that extends
beyond compliance, GE participates in
the Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA)
Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) in
the U.S., and has developed its own
Global Star certication process for its
international facilities.
OSHA VPP participation is predicated on GE meeting rigorous requirements
set by the U.S. government for fatality, injury and illness prevention that
far exceed the average rates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given VPPs
focus on U.S. sites, GE created its own international Global Star certication
process, which exceeds OSHA requirements in key risk areas for our
businesses. Our Global Star process is often studied by industry colleagues
as a best-in-class model.

HUMAN AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

EHS excellence can be achieved and maintained only if systems,
tools and programs evolve over time. As a current example of
our own evolution, we have recently started to embrace Human
and Organizational Performance (HOP) techniques to improve
our EHS performance, our safety culture and overall employee
engagement. HOP is an operating philosophy focused on
protecting people, products and property from human error.
It starts by recognizing that human error is part of the human
condition. Performance improvement is pursued through
identifying hidden weaknesses and traps associated with the
operating systems that GE workers must navigate to do their jobs.

At present, we have more than 110 OSHA VPP facilities and over 100 Global
Star sites. GE is the largest private-sector participant in OSHAs VPP.

At GE, our corporate EHS team oversees and supports HOP goals
with training, tools and cross-business forums. The team also
oversees required long-term plans for HOP integration developed
by individual GE businesses using risk-based prioritization.
Participation by operational leaders and employees has been
critical to achieving early successes and discovering new
synergies with disciplines such as LEAN manufacturing.

GE HEALTH AND SAFETY AT A GLANCE

120

12

100

10

80

60

40

20

95*

96

97

VPP Merit
GE Global RIR*

98

99

* RIR data is for U.S. only.

00

01

Canadian PIR Star

GE Global DAFWIR

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

02

03

04

Mexico VPP

05

06

07

08

GE Global Star

09

10

11

OSHA VPP

12

Incidence rate per 100 employees

Number of facilities in excellence programs

A comparison of Recordable Incident Rates (RIR) and Days Away From Work Incident Rates (DAFWIR) with the introduction of global excellence programs (as of January 2013)

DEFEND

Manage Brand Risk

Given the global and cutting-edge nature of GE operations,
the risk prole that the Company takes on is unique. The
corporate EHS team supports the Companys brand and
reputation as they continuously evolve through litigation,
remediation, brownelds programs, transaction reviews
and more. Together, these activities allow GE to grow while
managing the risks that the Company assumes.

BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT
GE is committed to addressing environmental liabilities associated
with legacy operations and acquisitions. This includes helping
communities redevelop former industrial sites, so-called
brownelds. A prime example is the effort currently under way
at GEs 76-acre Bridgeport Works property in Connecticut. Used
for industrial purposes for 90 years, manufacturing ceased at
the site in 2007. After a detailed real estate evaluation found that
the facilitys massive buildings were functionally obsolete and
unlikely to be reused, GE deconstructed the structures to clear
the site for future development. In the process, our team carefully
isolated each material stream for targeted management,
reclaiming 13,400 tons of metal and reusing 2,500 truckloads of
clean brick and concrete as site backll. This approach reduced
the volume of material transported off-site for disposal by more
than 40%. Along with deconstruction, the team extensively

sampled site soil and groundwater for evaluation. Now, GE is

working with the City of Bridgeport and others to identify long-term
reuse alternatives that will integrate site-cleanup strategies
with future construction and redevelopment. The Company is
using a similar approach at a number of its other properties.

PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Currently, 23 facilities owned or operated by GE participate in a
process safety management (PSM) program led by our corporate
EHS department. A concept that originated with OSHA, EU Seveso
Directives and other regulatory programs, PSM focuses on
installing barriers and mitigants to preclude accidents and limit the
consequences from the release of highly hazardous chemicals.
For GE sites, a cross-business team ensures a uniform PSM
approach. But we also recognize that every facility has unique
concerns. To get at these issues, a combination of site-specic
process hazard analyses and quantied risk assessments is
conducted to identify potential improvements. When new
safety elements are introduced, site personnel are trained in
any additions, limitations and methods for ensuring continued
integrity. Finally, the PSM program is supported by thirdparty facility audits, reporting and sharing of safety incident
information, and annual reviews. Combining regulatory
requirements and our management system expectations for our
PSM facilities, GE aims to avoid low-probability, high-consequence
events that would affect our employees and site neighbors.

Barriers

Hazard

Incident

Mitigants

Consequence

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

DEFEND

Manage Brand Risk

REMEDIATION ACTIVITY
GEs corporate EHS team currently manages one of the largest
and most logistically challenging environmental cleanups in U.S.
history on the Hudson River in New York. Here, dredging activity
removes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) lawfully discharged by
GE facilities into the upper Hudson prior to 1977. Over 2.6 million
cubic yards of sediment along 40 miles of river will be excavated.
In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a
Record of Decision that called for the removal of sediment
containing PCBs from the river. To determine what areas would
be dredged, GE collected and analyzed more than 60,000
samples of the river bottom. GE constructed a barge-unloading
facility, sediment dewatering and treatment facilities, and
temporary staging areas in Fort Edward, N.Y., to handle the
excavated sediment. GE also built a rail yard to support sediment
transportation to a federally permitted disposal facility via a eet
of over 500 rail cars assembled to support the project. The sites
water treatment plant was constructed to handle up to 2 million
gallons a day, processing water removed from sediment as well
as rainfall on the property.

Dredging to remove PCBs began in May 2009 and continued for

six months, after which GE, the EPA, and a panel of independent
dredging experts evaluated the work for lessons learned and
modications. Subsequent phases of the dredging have been
performed seasonally from May through November, with testing
to ensure PCB removal along the way. A foot or more of locally
sourced backll is placed in all dredged riverbeds along with
native vegetation that is hand-planted by divers. Inclusive of
wetlands restoration, more than 100,000 plants have been added
to the river system.
More than 1.3 million cubic yards of sediment have been removed
and processed through 2012. GE relies on its team of EHS and
dredging experts to conduct its efforts safely in an active waterway,
in accordance with the EPAs requirements, and with minimal
disruption to surrounding communities, to the greatest practical
extent. The EPA has characterized GEs work to date as a success
and a spectacular piece of engineering and construction.
For more information about GEs activity on the Hudson River,
please visit www.hudsondredging.com or www.epa.gov/hudson.

GE works closely with contractors and communities to ensure safe operations at the Hudson River waterway

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

LEAD

Rethink Business Value

Ecomaginationand corporate EHSs role in its development
provides key insight into how the Company approaches
materials efciency and economic value today. Because GE
sits squarely in the middle of some of the worlds largest
industriesenergy, rail, aviation, healthcare and moreit is
uniquely positioned to convene and engage on environmental
issues both upstream and downstream.

GE EMISSIONS AVOIDED (metric tons CO2e, in millions)

EHS VALUE CHAIN

Wind Turbines

Corporate EHS drives practices that help further optimize

operations across GE in partnership with ecomagination.
Co-incubated think and do tanks at GEs famed Global
Research Center include a Resource Optimization Center and
an EcoAssessment Center. They ask efciency and life-cycle
management (LCM) questions and provide the research that allows
us to improve rare-earth materials usage in our jet engines, weigh
decisions between single-use and reusable medical products in
our Healthcare product line, and more. The research also helps
the corporate EHS and ecomagination teams to develop a total
impact strategy of improving environmental performance across
the GE value chain by harnessing the power of our installed base.
The benets that GE can gain by improving the fuel and energy
efciency of its customers far exceed any reductions that we could
achieve in our own operations.

GE Operational GHG Reduction

Difference between 2011 annual value
and 2004 baseline, CO2e

2.09

Annual CO2e avoided from the U.S. and E.U.

installed generating capacity of 25,000 MW
compared to energy generated from
traditional sources on U.S. and E.U. grids

34.4

GEs Gas Engines Running

on Landll Gas
Annual CO2e avoided from global installed
base of 1,500 landll gas engines through
methane destruction and displaced grid
electricity production, compared to letting
the methane go uncollected

51.4

LCM IN PRACTICE
GOLD SEAL REMANUFACTURING: Thanks to customized research,
GE Healthcares Gold Seal program gained new understanding
of the value of materials across the life-cycles of their products
in order to capture old equipment for remanufacturing products
for new markets. This led decision-makers to invest in specialized
recycling services and new business opportunities related to
refurbishing; to develop a new customer segment; and to pursue
cost-effective mechanisms for providing access to leading-edge
healthcare technology.

RAW
MATERIALS

MATERIALS
PROCESSING

MANUFACTURING

APPLIANCES RECYCLING: In 12 states in the eastern U.S., when our GE

Appliances division removes a used refrigerator in order to install a newly
purchased one, the used refrigerator is now sent to ARCA Advanced
Processings recycling center in Philadelphia. The regional centers cuttingedge technology recovers the appliances insulating foam and extracts
its blowing agent in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
This recycling program qualied GE to become the rst manufacturer
partner of the EPAs Responsible Appliance Disposal Program and is
integral to GEs EPA WasteWise partnership. Through these processing
efforts, degassed foam and plastics are diverted from U.S. landlls,
and a portion of steel byproduct is being reused in new locomotives
manufactured by our Transportation division in Pennsylvania.

USE

SERVICE

END OF LIFE

Environment, Health and Safety at GE

EHS by the Numbers

35

FRESHWATER USE

REDUCTION
(2006 BASELINE)

DROP IN

COMPANY GHG

83 29
INJURY AND ILLNESS RATE*
(FROM 1996 TO 2012)

REDUCTION
(2006 BASELINE)

$200M SAVED

THROUGH INTERNAL FOOTPRINT REDUCTIONS

(SINCE 2005)

72

DECREASE

IN LOST-TIME CASES*
(FROM 1996 TO 2012)

$10B
TO BE SPENT ON
ECOMAGINATION

PRODUCT R&D
(FROM 2010 TO 2015)

16
,300
GE SUPPLIER
ASSESSMENTS

CONDUCTED
(SINCE 2003)

236
GE
FACILITIES
RECOGNIZED BY OSHA VPP AND
*

OTHER SAFETY-EXCELLENCE PROGRAMS

* as of January 2013