Corporate Responsibility

Industry Collaboration

We believe lasting improvements in supply chain standards can best be achieved through a combined industry effort.

We participate in the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and co-lead the organization's supply chain working group  that is developing tools to assess and improve supply chain corporate responsibility practices. We have designed and implemented our program around the best practices identified by GeSI in collaboration with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC).

Through the GeSI and EICC extractives workgroup, we are working to implement a tracking and validation system for metals used in our products. Read more about efforts to improve labor and environmental standards in the mining and metals supply chain.

Common industry tools

We continue to use E-TASC, the self-assessment tool developed by GeSI. At the end of 2010, 151 suppliers had completed self-assessment questionnaires for more than 250 facilities. This system enabled us to view the responses online from 151 suppliers and use the E-TASC risk assessment tool. Participating companies in the future will be able to view their suppliers' on-site audit results and corrective actions.  To assure confidentiality companies control what customers can view their information.

Overall, there are 151 companies with more than 250 facilities represented in E-TASC. The system has successfully improved efficiency for a number of suppliers and customers. For example, one supplier shares data with eight different customers through E-TASC and many others share data with two or more customers.

In 2010, we strengthened the E-TASC process in a number of ways:

• We adapted the E-TASC self-assessment questionnaire to suit the different types of companies in our supply chain. This will make the questionnaire more flexible and more relevant. For example companies with no manufacturing sites will not be asked questions on machine guarding and other production related subjects. 
• We contracted a company to manage the E-TASC process with the aim of increasing the number of suppliers using the tool.
• We introduced a feedback process which raises awareness of risks identified and through which we can ask suppliers to tackle specific issues.

In 2011, we plan to start using the questionnaire to gather information about the steps that suppliers are taking to prevent the sourcing of conflict minerals.

Training

In 2010, we helped to develop training through the GeSI and EICC, including a course to raise awareness of the importance of responsible purchasing among procurement professionals and a module aimed at factory managers.