GE Citizenship Report Covers Global Theme of Energy & Climate Change

In the 1890s, Founder Thomas Edison sold GE’s first lightbulbs. Back then, in order to pay for an hour of light powered at the equivalent strength of today’s 100 watts, the average worker would have to work a full hour. By 1960, the time period decreased to a mere eight minutes. And by 1992, it was down to less than a second when using a compact fluorescent bulb.

GE is proud of the part that Edison played in this energy revolution making lighting cleaner, safer, cheaper and brighter. We continue today to innovate to drive up quality and efficiency, and improve affordability in our core technologies. But Edison was just one in a long line of innovators, and the story of their breakthroughs was not only one of “inspiration and perspiration,” but of wider policy frameworks supporting research and education, open trade and commerce.
 
Over the past 30 years, while technology has been reinvented in areas such as telecommunications and healthcare, it has hardly budged in energy. Most of the technologies that underlie existing energy and transport systems remain those that were invented decades ago. They are increasingly brittle, and incompatible with the need to support a clean future.
 
To continue reading about Global Theme, click here.
 
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
 
Citizenship at GE is more than a program or a set of good intentions - it is a full-time commitment built upon cultural behaviors and actions. These actions are integrated with business strategy and have defined goals, strategies and metrics that make it actionable and accountable.
 
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