IBM issued its 2007-2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, detailing the company's performance results and strategies in the areas of governance, supply chain, environmental performance, employment policies and practices, client solutions and community engagements.

The 94-page report features IBMers on the front and back covers while on location in Ghana as part of the Corporate Service Corps, a new program to develop a next wave of IBM leaders while addressing societal challenges in emerging markets. The report also outlines how to identify the most pressing social and environmental threats in communities worldwide including improving energy consumption while also reducing emissions. The report is available online at: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility.

"The goal of this report is to address the many ways in which IBM is helping to make the world work better, as well as to outline ways in which we can continue to improve," said Stanley S. Litow, vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs and president of the IBM International Foundation. "We hope the approach we've taken provides great clarity, transparency and insight into our deep commitment to corporate social responsibility and its deep connection to our business strategy."

Included in the corporate responsibility report are:

•       How IBM equips its employees to become successful global citizens through its Global Citizen's Portfolio, a suite of investments in training and development to enable employees to take on greater personal responsibility for their career development, learning, wellness and community involvement.

•       The Global Citizen's Portfolio includes the Corporate Service Corps program, personal learning accounts and transition programs to assist those interested in second careers.

•       How IBM is minimizing its environmental impact on the planet through work-at-home programs to reduce CO₂ emissions, redesigning processes to create more environmentally friendly products that leave less hazardous waste.

•       Promoting social responsibility with our suppliers through a supplier code of conduct, increased diversity among suppliers and an accountability system through auditing.

•        Providing expertise and technology to address societal challenges including education through the launch of PowerUp, a free 3-D multiplayer online virtual world to interest more teens in math and science, or humanitarian research through free supercomputing power for projects to develop more nutritious rice and understand climate change in Africa.

•       Partnering with clients to help them address social, economic and environmental challenges through tools like Carbon Management Diagnostics or the intelligent utility network, and

•       Managing integrity and citizenship in a globally integrated enterprise through efforts such as gathering leaders from across the U.S. at IBM's forum on global leadership in Washington D.C., or working on intellectual property reforms and open standards.

A video news release on the Corporate Service Corps is available at http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/ghana_presentation.html. For more information about IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com.