About Us
CEO Letter
To Our Stakeholders
At ITT, everything we do is focused on creating value by living our values of respect, responsibility and integrity; establishing a culture that fosters continuous improvement; and complying with all applicable laws and regulations. In every instance, we strive to do the right thing always.
Engineered for life
Engineered for life is a promise to our stakeholders. A promise to provide essential engineering solutions, a promise to partner with customers to solve their greatest challenges, and a promise to make a difference on a global scale.
In our three core business areas – Fluid Technology, Defense Electronics and Services, and Motion and Flow Control – ITT provides essential engineering solutions to help solve some of the world's most intractable problems.
In particular, we are the world's largest supplier of pumps and technologies used to transport, treat and control water. Water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. With climate change and increasing population accelerating the need, solutions from ITT are providing critical access to clean water and improved sanitation.
We lead through partnership to meet the specific needs of the customers we supply and to have a positive impact on the communities we support.
Recently, when ITT acquired EDO Corporation, which produces jammers to thwart roadside IEDs (improvised explosive devices), we introduced Lean techniques and combined the talents of multiple ITT facilities to speed production and meet the government's accelerating delivery demands. Today, we're the world leader in electronic warfare and counter-IED jammers.
With operations in 60 countries and customers on all seven continents around the world, ITT is truly positioned to make a difference on a global scale.
For example, when we – as a corporation – set out to reduce our use of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), we achieved extraordinary results. During the past decade, we've decreased our use of SF6 by more than 90% and eliminated emissions of hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases – an amount comparable to removing 60,000 cars from the road annually.
A culture of continuous improvement
With this report, we reaffirm our long-term commitment to sustainability reporting. Since 1996, ITT has documented our performance on environmental, health and safety concerns. Our last four reports, including this one, address all major aspects of sustainability.
In 2008-2009, we continued to build upon our ethical culture by integrating our values in all our business activities. Our actions included:
- Conducting a major internal communications campaign about ITT's commitment – and the commitment of ITT employees worldwide – to "Living Our Values" of respect, responsibility and integrity
- Increasing employee recognition for incorporating our corporate values into their everyday work
- Establishing a signature philanthropy, ITT Watermark®, and committing significant financial and employee resources to its global mission
- Updating the ITT Code of Conduct, key compliance standards and related procedures
- Providing increased training on ethics and compliance, including Code of Conduct training to all employees, as well as training on important ethics and compliance topics to relevant groups of employees
- Applying "green" standards to the construction of our new corporate headquarters and other key sites around the world
As part of this commitment, Ann Davidson has been appointed as ITT's first vice president of corporate responsibility, reporting to me. Later in this report, Ann discusses the role of the corporate responsibility function and how it will contribute to ITT's future success.
Growth and sustainability
ITT is a growing, dynamic company – one that strives for sustainability in all we do. We are measuring and reducing environmental impacts wherever possible. We are focused on increasing the inclusiveness and diversity of our workforce at all levels. We are evaluating and incorporating renewable resources. And we are reporting more fully on the results of our efforts.
Despite the difficult year in the world economy, ITT turned in another strong performance in 2008. We have not been immune to the larger effects of the global economic downturn that continue to impact us all in 2009. But thanks to our balanced core businesses, talented global workforce, and effective processes that guide the way we operate, our financial situation and business performance remain strong.
Looking ahead, we anticipate continued progress in corporate responsibility. We will remain sustainable by staying closer to customers, maintaining flexibility with a strong balance sheet, investing in long-term strategies – and most importantly, striving to do the right thing always.
Steven R. Loranger
Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer
