Healthcare
Company Ownership
GE Healthcare
USA
General Electric Company
owns 100% of GE Healthcare
USA
Conglomerate
Founded by Thomas Edison in 1892. Today its three major divisions are aerospace, healthcare and energy. In 2013 GE sold its media interests to USA's largest cable and internet access provider, Comcast.
Company Assessment
(Last updated Nov 2024)
Praise
Criticism
Information
GE Healthcare
Praise
Criticism
Information
Community Engagement claims
This company has community engagement claims on its website.
Source: company website
(2020)
General Electric Company
Praise
Criticism
Information
68.1% in conflict minerals rankings
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 68.1% (Good).
Source: As You Sow
(2019)
JUST Capital ranking
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2024 rankings the public identified 20 issues, which are organised under the headings Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders and Environment. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 205th of 937 companies, and 9th of 51 Industrial Goods companies.
Source: JUST Capital
(2024)
F grade in Plastic Promises Scorecard
As You Sow's 2024 Plastic Promises Scorecard measures the corporate ambition and action of 225 large companies across six industries on six core pillars of plastic packaging pollution prevention: 1) Recyclability, 2) Reduction, 3) Recycled Content, 4) Recovery, 5) Reuse, and 6) Producer Responsibility. This company received a grade of F.
Source: As You Sow
(2024)
Top 10 Corporate Criminal of 2017
This company appeared on Global Exchange's list of "10 Top Corporate Criminals of 2017" for being the top corporate US tax evader; its tax rate was -9% from 2008-2013.
Source: Global Exchange
(2017)
Top spender on lobbying in USA
This company is on OpenSecrets.org's list of "Top Spenders on Lobbying", a list of the 20 organizations that have spent the most trying to influence US government policy. This company comes in at number 15 on the list, having spent $384,802,000 on lobbying between 1998 and 2024.
Source: Open Secrets
(2024)
US defense contracts
This company was among the US Top 20 Defense Contractors derived from the 2019 Washington Technology Top 100 list, based on their 2018 defense contract revenue. Microsoft was number 78 with a defense revenue of US$269 million.
Source: Washington Technology
(2019)
Arms sales
This company is 24th on SIPRI's list of the Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world (excluding Chinese companies), ranked by their arms sales in 2020. Arms sales accounted for 6% of this company's total sales in 2020.
Source: SIPRI
(2020)
28/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 28/100 in the Industrial Conglomerates category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 21 Oct 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global
(2022)
Excessive CEO pay
As You Sow's 2022 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, H. Lawrence Culp Jr. came in at number 3 on the list, having been paid US$73,192,032 in 2021. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
Source: As You Sow
(2022)
Action on Darfur
Identified in 'The Big Chill: Too Scared to Speak' report which identified Chinese Olympic Sponsors response to Darfur crisis in Sudan. Received a D. Neither took action in regard to bringing security to Darfur, their grades reflect what appeared to be significant concern with the issue and an effort (unsuccessful) to take an action.
Source: Dream for Dafur
(2008)
Omniscan lawsuit
On 23 March 2013 GE Healthcare, a division of this company, was found by a jury in a federal court in Cleveland to have failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the dangers of its medical imaging dye, Omniscan. The jury awarded US$5m to the plaintiff and his wife. This was the first time a jury had examined whether the dye, injected to sharpen MRI scans, can cause the debilitating disease of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis. It was revealed that GE Healthcare ignored the advice of its own experts in 2009 and 2010 to proactively restrict its use. The company had also settled a few hundred cases involving the dye out of court which were all confidential.
Source: Drug Dangers
(2013)
Chemical poisoning of workers
The Poisonous Pearl is a 2016 report by Good Electronics which focuses on the experiences of (former) workers in the electronics industry in China who are victims of chemical poisoning. The health of all the workers in the report was damaged by exposure to hazardous chemicals such as benzene and n-hexane. All were working in large or small factories in the Pearl River Delta-region of China, an area well known as being a global hub for the production of consumer electronics (ICT). This company is supplied by factories in the region.
Source: SOMO
(2016)
Multinational Monitor's '10 Worst Corporations of 2008'
Named one of Multinational Monitor's '10 Worst Corporations of 2008'. (Listed under information due to age of report)
Source: Multinational Monitor
(2008)
History of misdeeds
GE has a lengthy record of criminal, civil, political and ethical transgressions. Listed under information due to age of report.
Source: Clean Up GE
(2001)
Nuclear - direct involvement
Hitachi and General Electric operate a joint venture which builds nuclear power plants.
Source: company website
(2022)
Involvement with Israel
The independent research centre Who Profits has identified this company as complicit in Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land.
Source: Who Profits
(2024)
Responsible Minerals Initiative member
This company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative), which helps companies address conflict minerals issues in their supply chains. The RMI provides information on conflict-free smelters and refiners, common tools to gather sourcing information, and forums for exchanging best practices on addressing conflict minerals. Membership is open to companies that use or transact in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold (3TG). Founded in 2008 by members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
Source: RMI
(2019)
Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website
(2016)
8.5/20 in Social Benchmark
The 2024 Social Benchmark assesses the world's 2,000 most influential companies on their responsibility in meeting society's fundamental expectations towards three measurement areas: respecting human rights, providing decent work, and acting ethically. This company was assessed in 2023 and received a score of 8.5/20. The average score was an alarmingly low 4.6/20 and the highest score was 15.5/20.
OpenSecrets.org profile
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets
(2024)
57.6% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017
This company received a score of 57.6/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek
(2017)
Company Details
Type:
Wholly-owned subsidiary
Founded:
1994