Twice as Proud: Celebrating Important Corporate Responsibility Milestones for Intel Israel
By Revital Bitan
This time of the year is always very special for me, with Intel Corporation publishing its Corporate Responsibility Report followed shortly by our process to adapt and localize the report for our communities around the world. For more than a decade, I have been proud to lead the creation of our Intel Israel local report. However, this year offered twice the excitement for me and our team, since the launch of our report coincided with Intel Israel’s 45th anniversary as well as a significant commitment by the Israeli government to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Yaniv Garty, Intel Israel’s general manager, announced our 13th annual local Corporate Responsibility Report at an event together with Galit Cohen, Senior Deputy Director for Planning, Policy and Strategy at the Ministry of Environmental Protection. This event held a special meaning also for Israel as a whole thanks to the milestones achieved during July, namely a government decision to continue the integration of the SDGs into the State level strategic planning process. For the first time, Israel presented its Voluntary National Review 2019 – “Harnessing Innovation to Leave No One Behind” to the United Nations. At the event, Yaniv noted, “Intel Israel plays a central role in the Israeli economy with technological innovation and our social impact and we support many of the SDGs goals through our corporate responsibility and sustainability strategies.” Bella Abrahams, Intel Israel’s director of public affairs, noted, “Innovation drives our corporate responsibility activities. We are proud to report achieving a record 6,000 of our employees volunteering in our communities Haifa, Kiryat Gat, Jerusalem and Petach Tikva, in various capacities such as education, social welfare and environmental activities.”
I am personally proud of Intel’s commitment to transparency and our partnerships over the years with our global team on transparency and reporting to drive accountability at the local level. Of all the multinational companies operating in Israel, Intel Israel is the only one that has regularly created a country-level report over the past decade. I believe this is a great example of how having strong local engagement and transparency creates value both at the local level and also contributes to our overall global corporate responsibility strategy.
Some of Intel Israel’s Corporate Responsibility Report highlights:
- 6,000 volunteers contributed a total 60,000 voluntary work hours, with a 40% increase in the volunteer rate over the previous year.
- 800 women were recruited to Intel Israel in 2018, 90% of them to technological roles.
- 18,000 students graduated from high school with high-level math thanks to the national 5*2 Program led by Intel.
- Intel Israel purchased 175 kW/h of green power in a first of its kind initiative in Israel.
- 75% of our suppliers are small to medium businesses. Our spending with women-owned
businesses and diversity suppliers in Israel totaled $102 million.
