Stitching Together Partnerships, Developing Global Suppliers Partnerships are the building blocks for growth and opportunity. A new supplier in Ethiopia has hired and trained its first employees to manufacture airplane insulation blankets for Boeing, thanks to a partnership between an established Italian supplier and a Boeing Commercial Airplanes customer. Skytecno and Ethiopian Airlines established the Ethiopian Sky Technologies joint venture in April 2021. The partnership’s origins trace back about six years, when a Boeing Supplier Development team conducted a capability assessment in Ethiopia and found skills in textiles and assembly work. Boeing reached out to Geven/Skytecno, an insulation-blanket supplier in Italy, to help form the joint venture with Ethiopian Airlines. “This partnership helps to expand our sourcing options and to build aerospace manufacturing skills in Ethiopia,” said Savas Bostanci, Project Manager, Boeing International. Boeing helps foster collaborations such as Ethiopian Sky Technologies as part of its commitment to partnering with suppliers to source responsibly and to create economic opportunity for diverse communities. Supplier Diversity: Partnerships Advance Boeing and Indigenous Businesses Boeing Australia and the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC) have been creating win-win solutions since signing a groundbreaking five-year relational agreement to grow and support businesses owned and/or controlled by Indigenous mainland and Torres Strait Islander Australians. “Boeing and iDiC have worked together to create a true partnership based on trust and aligned values,” said Adam Goodes, Chief Executive Officer and Director of iDiC. “In the pursuit of growth for Indigenous businesses, we operate as one team.” The contractual model is based on a co-created vision and guiding principles that ensure reciprocity, trust building, transparency and compatibility in daily interactions, aiming for both parties to operate as a united ethical body. Partnership successes include: • Supporting TQCSI-Yaran to become the first Indigenous person-owned business in Australia qualified to audit and certify against the AS9100 series Quality Management System — the international standard for the aerospace industry. • Partnering with Willyama, one of Australia’s leading Indigenous person-owned and veteran-owned professional services companies, to deliver cybersecurity capability in support of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). • Partnering with the iDiC and its partner PSG Holdings in a tender submission to develop next-generation military satellite communications capability for the ADF. • Boeing Defence Australia’s aggregated spend with Indigenous businesses has grown to over AU$24.5M since 2009. Ethiopian Sky Technologies employees produce insulation blankets in their new facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Boeing photo) 2022 Sustainability Report 59 Contents People Introduction Communities Operations Reporting Approach & Governance Products & Services