2017 GEC Catalyst Awards

2017 GEC Catalyst Awards

Representatives from the Global Electronics Councilwere pleased to honor in-person several of the Winners, Finalists and a member of the Judging Committee at the 2017 Catalyst Awards Ceremony in Shanghai, China, in June 2017.

2017 Catalyst Award Winners

Sourcemap Inc. Supply Chain Transparency Community
Advances in supply chain transparency driven by enterprise social networking, analytics and visualization are making it possible for manufacturers and brands to have continuous assurance that their products are sustainably sourced and assembled. Sourcemap introduced the first supply chain social network designed to connect supply chain stakeholders, from raw materials to end customers, to enable full traceability across the hundreds of thousands of businesses that work together to deliver modern electronics. Used for years by individual brands and manufacturers to collect custom data from 1st, 2nd and 3rd-tier suppliers, Sourcemap is now introducing supply chain communities that enable multiple competing companies to benefit from a shared repository of pre-competitive information on suppliers’ social and environmental performance. Brands that have achieved visibility and benchmarks are also able to take advantage of Open Sourcemap, the world’s largest public platform for sharing product supply chains transparently with consumers through website embeds and linked QR codes.
Xerox Corporation Optimizing a Reverse Logistics System
Xerox, as a corporate citizen, has a role to play throughout the lifecycle of our products and services. Our responsibility does not end once the product is sold. Xerox takes on supply chain responsibility as an electronics manufacturer from material extraction all the way through the end-of-life management of products. Over the past few years Xerox has optimized the Eastern and Western Hemisphere reverse logistics systems, which manage and process all products at their end-of-life. Xerox has always been recognized as an industry leader in end-of-life management, and this innovative optimization takes the next step towards creating a robust circular economy. The optimization utilizes a new centralized control system which calculates the value associated with sending a product through one of five potential processes, then the optimization system selects the process that will create the greatest value. These five processes include remanufacture, refurbish, remove parts for reuse, recycle, and broker sales. This optimized system utilizes current part and product inventory levels, along with the condition and service history of each return, to create a real time end-of-life inventory of spare parts and full products. These parts and products are then used to supply the manufacturing of new products and second life sales. Specifically, in this optimized system the remanufacturing and refurbishing strategy has shifted from ‘waiting for a market need’ to ‘actively seeking and creating the highest possible value’ for each end-of-life product. In addition, the parts reuse process has improved in multiple ways so that a recovered part is always the first choice over a newly manufactured part. The last end-of-life product stream is broker sales, which is a newly established process in the optimized system and is able to create a 2nd life for a product without any additional processing. Through all of these innovative improvements the optimized reverse logistics system as a whole has helped Xerox realize over $127 million USD in cost benefit, achieve over 115 million lb. CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas savings, decrease cross continental transportation, and enable social sustainability. Xerox makes continuous improvements to this system in order to overcome all challenges, specifically to increase end-of-life collection of equipment that is not directly sold by or leased from Xerox. The global goal is to continue to drive innovation and optimization in order to increase the incremental cost savings and environmental savings by increasing the quantity of products taken back, formalizing the sharing of assets between Eastern and Western Hemisphere operations, and integrating consumable returns into this optimized system. With a global team working together towards these common goals, Xerox will continue to lead the industry with a truly innovative and sustainable reverse logistics system.

2017 Catalyst Award Finalists

China United Environmental Certification Center
Government procurement list of environmental labeling products (hereinafter to be referred as “List”) aims to promote green procurement in China and promote the development of a green supply chain. China’s policy on government procurement of environmental labeling products has been improving over the past years with wider scope of products and gradual improvement of management mechanism. It plays a good guiding and demonstration role in facilitating comprehensive implementation of sustainable consumption. Up to the end of 2016, 19 issues of the list have been released. The government policy and list on procurement of environmental labelling products not only improves environmental performances of government agencies, but also reduces energy consumption and emissions of pollutants by forcing green upgrading of enterprises through consumption and promotes the development of green supply chain, in particular electronic product industry. The scale of government procurement of environmental labelling products reached 715.45 billion Yuan during 2008~2016 with continuous rise of the percent of environmental labelling products in similar products of government procurement.
카이저 퍼머넌트
전자 및 정보 기술을 통해 Kaiser Permanente는 회원, 환자 및 의사에게 전자 의료 정보에 대한 실시간 액세스를 제공하여 신속한 치료 제공을 가능하게 합니다. 그러나 컴퓨터, 프린터, 모니터 및 전자 액세서리의 제조, 사용 및 폐기는 전 세계적으로 인간 및 환경 건강에 큰 영향을 미칩니다. 이를 인식한 Kaiser Permanente는 2000년대 초에 환경 적 영향을 최소화하면서 IT 운영의 이점을 극대화할 수 있는 보다 친환경적인 전자 제품을 식별하기 위해 작업을 시작했습니다. 2006년 초, Kaiser Permanente는 새로운 컴퓨터 시스템 공급업체와의 계약으로 미국 EPA가 지원하는 전자 기기에 대한 환경 등급 시스템인 EPEAT를 지정한 세계 최초의 민간 기업 중 하나가 되었습니다. 계약 언어는 EPEAT를 벤치마크로 사용하여 이러한 제품 옵션을 믿을 수 있고 효과적으로 식별하기 위해 에너지 효율적이고 환경적으로 책임있는 전자 장비에 대한 강력하고 명확한 선호도를 명시했습니다. 10년 이상 EPEAT와 함께 일해온 Kaiser Permanente의 사양은 더 높은 수준의 성능이 필요하고 새로 적용된 제품 범주로 확장되었습니다. EPEAT 등록 전자 기기 를 조달하기 위해 10 년 동안 구매 약속을 얻은 후 3 년 연속 인정받았으며 녹색 전자 위원회에서 EPEAT 2 성급 상을 수상했습니다. 2016년 카이저 퍼머넌트는 EPEAT 등록 기기 구매를 2015년대비 약 5.9% 증가시켰으며, 이는 2016년에 EPEAT 등록 기기에 대한 총 지출이 85M에 달하는 놀라운 일입니다. 이번에는 EPEAT 등록 TV의 구입을 포함 - 더 올바른 방향으로 시장을 이동하는 건강 시스템의 구매력을 보여주는! Kaiser Permanente는 이제 다른 분야에서 최상위 EPEAT 조달을 유지하면서 도전적인 제품 카테고리의 성능을 높이는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다.
Pacific Gas and Electric
PG&E는 자체 환경 영향 과 규정 준수 성능을 측정합니다. 이러한 이니셔티브의 결과로 운영 효율성을 파악하고 비용 절감을 실현하며 고객, 직원 및 공급업체가 환경 관리의 혜택을 누릴 수 있도록 참여합니다. 우리는 공급 업체가 비슷한 프로그램과 목표를 가질 것으로 기대합니다. 공급업체 참여의 일환으로 공급업체는 환경 관리 시스템(EMS) 구축, 환경 영향 추적, 개선 목표 설정 및 성과를 공개적으로 보고하는 것의 중요성에 대해 교육합니다. 이러한 세부 사항을 수집하기위한 메커니즘은 전기 유틸리티 산업 지속 가능한 공급망 얼라이언스 (얼라이언스)와의 회원 자격으로 완료 된 연간 공급 업체 지속 가능성 설문 조사입니다. PG&E는 2008년 얼라이언스의 창립 멤버이자 공급업체 평가에 사용하기 위한 설문조사 응답을 기반으로 스코어카드 방법론을 만든 최초의 회원 중 한 명입니다. 설문 조사의 질문은 얼라이언스 환경 프레임 워크를 기반으로하고 답변이 성숙에 구축되는 시스템을 가지고있다. 이는 공급업체가 자신의 성과를 평가하고 가장 영향력 있는 방식으로 노력을 진행하는 데 필요한 것을 명확하게 확인할 수 있는 학습 도구를 제공합니다. 설문 조사에 대한 응답은 품질, 성능, 공급업체 다양성 및 지속 가능성을 포함한 많은 주요 성과 지표를 요소하는 공급업체의 연간 성과기록표 평가에서 정량화되고 사용됩니다. 공급업체는 5점 척도에 따라 점수를 받습니다. PG&E는 매년 공급업체의 비율이 3점 이하의 점수를 달성하도록 기업 목표를 설정합니다. 환경 성능 표준은 공급업체가 환경에 미치는 영향을 최소화하기 위해 노력하는 데 중요한 의미를 측정하는 데 도움이 됩니다. 공급업체 환경 관리 표준을 이행한 이후 경제 및 시장 영향은 PG&E가 전년 대비 공급업체 실적개선을 보았습니다. 매년 약 100개의 공급업체가 설문조사를 실시합니다. 2013년에는 조사 대상 공급업체의 55%가 3점 이하의 점수를 달성하는 것이 목표였습니다. 목표는 초과되었고 그 이후로 우리는 점점 더 많은 목표를 세웠습니다. 2016년에는 목표가 70%였고, 75%를 달성했습니다. 이는 매년 더 많은 최상위 공급업체가 환경 영향 결과를 측정, 목표 설정 및 공개적으로 보고하고 이를 위한 시스템을 구현하거나 유지하는 것의 중요성을 인식하고 있습니다. 과제 는 이 프로그램의 구현 및 실행 전반에 걸쳐 우리가 경험한 몇 가지 과제로는  지속적인 공급업체 참여 및 교육의 필요성,  공급업체 접점을 최소화하고 , "한 가지 크기가 모두 맞는" 설문조사 장애물을 극복하는 것입니다. 각 과제는 별도로 해결되었지만, 모든 것은 공급자를 염두에 두고 있습니다. 우리는 설문 조사 실행, 성과 기록표 결과 및 프로그램 작업에 대한 완전한 투명성을 제공합니다. 이를 통해 공급업체는 응답이 어떻게 사용되는지, 시간이 지남에 따라 성능을 향상시킬 수 있는 방법을 알 수 있습니다. 프로그램 이정표 2016, 우리는 우리의 다양한 공급 업체의 숫자를 포함하도록 조사 된 공급 업체의 범위를 확대. 이는 그들이 최상위 공급업체가 될 때 그들이 기대하는 것에 대비하고 환경 성과를 개선하는 방법에 대해 교육하기 위한 노력이었습니다. 매년, 우리는 3 이하의 점수를 달성 하는 공급 업체의 %에 개선을 위해 노력. 2017년에는 최상위 공급업체의 75%가 이 수준에서 성과를 올리는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다.
toxnot PBC

Customers, retailers, and name brands are demanding chemicals transparency from their manufacturers and supply chains. Manufacturers must meet these requests or lose their largest customers, e.g. Walmart, Google, and LEED builders. Without supply chain transparency, manufacturers risk lost sales and legal costs. Today, manufacturers spend a lot of money hiring consultants to survey suppliers and produce one-off transparency reports. toxnot’s software solution reduces manufacturers’ costs and risks by automating the chemical transparency process with: (1) Fast, searchable access to the world’s best chemicals hazards data. (2) Seamless supply chain data collection. (3) Automated transparency reporting for multiple industry standards toxnot is a web based software solution that supports manufacturers and suppliers of all sizes in selecting preferred chemicals and automating the product reports required by their customers. toxnot provides a freely accessible chemical hazard database as well as best in class subscription tools for supply chain data collection and product reporting. toxnot is quickly becoming THE source for chemicals hazard data. Our ‘software as a service’ subscription tools provide the easiest and lowest cost path to generating product transparency reports. Customers can access chemicals hazard data for free and purchase modular subscriptions starting at $49/mo to access reporting and supplier survey tools. toxnot is the first transparency software that is fully accessible to all business users regardless of their company size. It is also the first solution to incorporate workflows for the two most difficult issues (data collection and reporting) for users in one software solution: Toxnot combines supplier data collection directly with a full chemical hazards database and reporting engine so that users can manage the entire product transparency reporting process from one place. In addition, toxnot provides its searchable database free to anyone – the first service to make complete hazards data available to all. Our business model offers free access to our chemical hazards database, allowing all supply chain participants to drive better product design outcomes. We are the only source for free access to GreenScreen List Translator scores, the predominant method for communicating chemical hazards in product reporting. Our solution seamlessly integrates with companies’ Bill of Material and formulation systems, importing product data directly into our reporting engine, and drastically reducing the time and cost of reporting. Suppliers skip tedious web forms and quickly import their data to submit to their customers. toxnot protects proprietary chemicals while still allowing suppliers and manufacturers flexibility to see hazards and run products against changing compliance lists without having to recollect data from their suppliers. Our service was engineered from the ground up for scalability – it works across different device sizes, from phones to desktops, and can scale to hundreds of thousands of users.

Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials
One couldn’t imagine a world without tablets or smartphones. Lithium-ion batteries have been powering the portable electronics technology in the last decade and this technology still has a very healthy growth perspective. Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials is a world leader in the production of cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. Next to the development of new technologies and products, Umicore pays a lot of attention to the sustainability of their products and the sustainable procurement of raw materials. Together with portable electronics, the growth for lithium-ion batteries is supported by the transition towards the electrification of the automobile. Both the electronics and electric vehicle sector are driven by the ambition for a sustainable and bright future. Companies in the battery supply chain, however, are facing high ethical and environmental risks in the supply chain of cobalt, an essential mineral in the lithium-ion batteries of portable devices. Umicore is aware of the risks that are linked to the sourcing of cobalt. Infringements of human rights, occurrence of child labor and environmental issues, as well as the lack of sufficient health and safety protection are reported to occur in certain parts of the cobalt supply chain. Last year, research by Amnesty International revealed the occurrence of the worst forms of child labor in the artisanal mining activities of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Amnesty International, “This is what we die for”, January 2016). To avoid the occurrence of these practices in Umicore’s supply chain, and consequently that of its customers, Umicore has created a dedicated Sustainable Procurement Framework for Cobalt already in 2004. The current Sustainable Procurement Framework for Cobalt builds on this and takes into account the specific risks that are currently linked to the mining of cobalt. It is inspired by the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals (OECD, 2013). For the practical implementation of the framework, Umicore has created a decision tree. Following the decision tree leads to the decision whether or not to source from a certain cobalt supplier. This decision tree includes four essential steps: supply chain traceability, supplier research, risk assessment and risk mitigation. In 2016, Umicore was the first company worldwide to obtain external validation for its ethical procurement approach. Umicore proactively engaged the services of the assurance provider PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform an audit on Umicore’s procurement activities of 2015. The audit included providing full transparency on Umicore’s purchasing activities, chain of custody documentation and due diligence research, as well as visit reports and risk mappings. Aiming to raise the bar for the cobalt industry, Umicore has made the compliance report of the last audit publicly available in March 2017. In doing so, Umicore wants to increase transparency towards its customers and stakeholders. Next to that, Umicore wants to stimulate other players in the cobalt industry to develop similar systems and engage with third-parties for verification. In this way, Umicore believes it is actively contributing to the further development of a sustainable supply chain of cobalt. Umicore believes that its unique approach and publicly reporting on its compliance, provides comfort to its customers about the provenance and the ethical nature of the cobalt used in the material they source. Umicore’s customers have valuable brands to protect and Umicore is committed to provide them peace of mind on all aspects.