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.
Kaiser Permanente
A electrónica e a tecnologia da informação permitem à Kaiser Permanente fornecer aos membros, pacientes e médicos acesso em tempo real à informação médica electrónica, o que tem agilizado e simplificado a prestação de cuidados. Mas o fabrico, utilização e eliminação de computadores, impressoras, monitores e respectivos acessórios electrónicos têm um impacto adverso significativo na saúde humana e ambiental a nível mundial. Reconhecendo isto, a Kaiser Permanente começou a trabalhar no início dos anos 2000 para identificar produtos electrónicos mais responsáveis do ponto de vista ambiental que lhes permitissem maximizar os benefícios das suas operações de TI ao mesmo tempo que minimizavam os seus impactos ambientais. No início de 2006, a Kaiser Permanente tornou-se uma das primeiras empresas privadas do mundo a especificar a EPEAT - um sistema de classificação ambiental para dispositivos electrónicos apoiado pela EPA dos EUA - num contrato com um novo fornecedor de sistemas informáticos. A linguagem do contrato especificou uma preferência forte e definitiva por equipamento electrónico energeticamente eficiente e ambientalmente responsável, utilizando a EPEAT como referência para identificar de forma credível e eficaz tais opções de produtos. Ao longo de dez anos de trabalho com a EPEAT, as especificações da Kaiser Permanente exigiram níveis de desempenho mais elevados e expandiram-se para novas categorias de produtos cobertas. Após dez (10) anos de compromissos de compra de dispositivos electrónicos registados na EPEAT, a organização foi reconhecida três (3) anos consecutivos e ganhou o nível de prémio de duas estrelas da EPEAT do Green Electronics Council. Em 2016, a Kaiser Permanente aumentou a sua compra de dispositivos registados na EPEAT em aproximadamente 5,9% a partir de 2015, representando um espantoso gasto total de 85 milhões de dólares em dispositivos registados na EPEAT no ano de 2016. Desta vez, a organização incluiu a compra de televisores registados na EPEAT - demonstrando ainda mais o poder de compra de um sistema de saúde para mover os mercados na direcção certa! A Kaiser Permanente tem agora como objectivo aumentar o desempenho em categorias de produtos desafiados, ao mesmo tempo que sustenta a aquisição de produtos de primeira linha da EPEAT noutros.
Pacific Gas and Electric
Na PG&E medimos os nossos próprios impactos ambientais e o desempenho em termos de conformidade. Como resultado destas iniciativas, identificamos eficiências operacionais, realizamos poupanças de custos e envolvemos os nossos clientes, funcionários e fornecedores nos benefícios da gestão ambiental. Esperamos que os nossos fornecedores tenham programas e objectivos semelhantes. Como parte do nosso envolvimento de fornecedores, educamos os fornecedores sobre a importância de estabelecer um sistema de gestão ambiental (SGA), acompanhar os seus impactos ambientais, estabelecer objectivos de melhoria, e relatar publicamente o seu desempenho. O mecanismo para recolher estes detalhes é o inquérito anual de sustentabilidade dos fornecedores concluído na nossa associação com a Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance (Alliance). A PG&E foi membro fundador da Aliança em 2008 e um dos primeiros membros a criar uma metodologia de pontuação baseada nas respostas ao inquérito para utilização em avaliações de fornecedores. As perguntas do inquérito baseiam-se no quadro ambiental da Alliance e têm um sistema em que as respostas se desenvolvem em maturidade. Isto proporciona uma ferramenta de aprendizagem com a qual os fornecedores podem avaliar o seu próprio desempenho e ver claramente o que é necessário para progredir nos seus esforços da forma mais impactante. As respostas ao inquérito são quantificadas e utilizadas na avaliação anual de pontuação do fornecedor, o que determina muitas métricas-chave de desempenho, incluindo qualidade, desempenho, diversidade de fornecedores, e sustentabilidade. É atribuída uma pontuação aos fornecedores com base numa escala de 5 pontos. A PG&E estabelece um objectivo empresarial todos os anos de ter uma percentagem de fornecedores que atinja uma pontuação de 3 ou melhor. As normas de desempenho ambiental ajudam-nos a avaliar o significado que os fornecedores estão a colocar nos seus esforços para minimizar os seus impactos ambientais. Impacto económico e de mercado Desde a implementação das normas de gestão ambiental de fornecedores, a PG&E tem vindo a melhorar o desempenho dos fornecedores ano após ano. Anualmente são inquiridos cerca de uma centena de fornecedores. Em 2013, o nosso objectivo era ter 55% dos fornecedores inquiridos a atingir uma pontuação de 3 ou melhor. O objectivo foi ultrapassado e, desde então, temos tido objectivos crescentes. Em 2016, o objectivo era de 70% e atingimos 75%. Isto significa que todos os anos, mais dos nossos fornecedores de topo estão a aperceber-se da importância de medir, estabelecer objectivos e comunicar publicamente os seus resultados de impacto ambiental e implementar ou manter sistemas para o fazer. Desafios Alguns dos desafios que temos experiência ao longo da implementação e execução deste programa incluem: a necessidade de envolvimento e formação contínua dos fornecedores, minimizando os pontos de contacto dos fornecedores, e ultrapassando o obstáculo do inquérito "tamanho único". Cada desafio foi abordado separadamente, mas todos com a consideração do fornecedor em mente. Proporcionamos total transparência na execução do inquérito, nos resultados dos quadros de pontuação, e nas acções do nosso programa. Isto assegura que o fornecedor está ciente de como as suas respostas serão utilizadas e como podem melhorar o seu desempenho ao longo do tempo. Marcos do programa Em 2016, alargámos o âmbito dos fornecedores inquiridos para incluir vários dos nossos diversos fornecedores. Isto foi um esforço para os preparar para o que seria de esperar deles caso se tornassem fornecedores de topo, bem como para os educar sobre a forma de melhorar o seu desempenho ambiental. Todos os anos, esforçamo-nos por obter melhorias na percentagem de fornecedores que atingem uma pontuação de 3 ou melhor. Em 2017, o nosso objectivo é que 75% dos fornecedores de primeira linha tenham um desempenho a este nível.
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.
