My opening letter as part of our 2020 Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) report

Looking back at the last 12 months the world has experienced one of the most significant periods of global change and transformation we have ever seen. As a leader of a business employing 63,000 people and serving customers in 180 markets around the world, I am acutely aware and focused on the wider role Lenovo plays in the world today. We have a responsibility to all our stakeholders to make progress on our climate change commitments, make a positive social impact in the communities where we do business, and strive to be a model corporate citizen in our ethical, customer service, and supply chain behaviors. 

It’s with the backdrop of awareness and responsibility that I’m proud of the accomplishments and determination of the Lenovo team in the last year, and our ambitions for the years ahead.

Our global response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has overshadowed 2020 for the whole world and Lenovo has responded to this global challenge in multiple ways to support not only customers, partners and employees but also the communities where we live and work. Our actions have included relentless team efforts to bring technology to emergency hospitals (Wuhan and New York), partnering with Intel on genome research to fight the virus, providing systems for governments to meet the unprecedented demand in processing unemployment services (Australia), and donating products to school children (China, Italy, US) to enable education during lockdowns. And much more. Lenovo’s contribution has exceeded US$13 million – the result of a global collaboration between the Lenovo Foundation, business entities and executives. More importantly, our actions have been customized to the unique needs of the diverse communities where we do business, maximizing the value and impact of every contribution.

Alongside our philanthropic efforts, the global supply chain team worked night and day to harness the power of both our inhouse and third-party manufacturing sites around the world to adjust capacity and rebalance production. Although our primary smartphone manufacturing site in Wuhan was required to close for several months, the team rallied to move parts and supply around the world to take advantage of other facilities. This incredible flexibility and resilience of our global footprint reinforces that our global sourcing, local delivery capabilities and operational excellence are Lenovo’s core competencies and key factors in our ability to overcome complex challenges.

Building a diverse and inclusive organization

Ensuring a diverse and equitable workplace and ecosystem where everyone can thrive has been part of who Lenovo is since our beginning. The FY 2019/20 marks the second year of our annual Diversity and Inclusion report, including progress in global representation of female executives (18.5%), expansion of our employee resource groups, and an employee engagement score of more than 90% as reported by employees in our annual Lenovo Listens survey. We also received the second consecutive recognition on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, earned 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for the third consecutive year, and had two VPs of the company named to Forbes China’s 2019 Women in Tech list. However, our commitment to diversity goes beyond just our own teams and to our suppliers and strategic sourcing process too.

Innovating a smarter future for all

A company of diverse innovators, we still believe, even after 35 years in business, that our job of creating inclusive technology is never done and that no one should be left behind in our shared digital future. This is the core belief behind our vision and purpose to provide “smarter technology for all”. In 2019, we were proud to execute on our vision when we appointed the company’s first Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor – Haben Girma – and signed both the Valuable 500 inclusivity initiative and GSMA Digital Declaration. While we focus on delivering our innovations for all, our purpose is also leading our 10,000 engineers, researchers and scientists around the world in creating smarter technologies such as the world’s first 5G PC and first foldable laptop. At the same time using artificial intelligence in not only our own products, but also through our work with customers in industries such as healthcare and agriculture.

Looking ahead – future goals

Looking ahead our focus continues to be on how we build a long-term sustainable business for our employees, our customers and our communities for the decades ahead. Technology is breaking down barriers, democratizing access and empowering change - but as we look forward, we must ensure the legacy of COVID-19 does not divide our world further. For the next 10 years we are focused on new, ambitious targets including diversity and inclusion goals and climate change targets as part of the global Science Based Targets Initiative.

While I am proud of our own progress across all elements of ESG and the industry accolades, I know we must do more. More to drive change within Lenovo, the technology industry as a whole and the wider world. Ultimately, my focus is to ensure that we not only make an impact, but that our employees, leadership, behavior and innovations reflect our vision of smarter technology for all.