Subscribers to the leading tool for managing accountability in the electronics supply chain, E-TASC (Electronics - Tool for Accountable Supply Chains), have now submitted a combined total of over 1000 supplying facilities to the database.
E-TASC was created by Information and Communication Technology companies working together through the collaboration of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC). The tool is managed by Achilles, a leading provider of services in sustainable procurement that hosts procurement systems across eight different sectors.
Subscribers to E-TASC include some of the most recognisable brands in the ICT industry: see public listing at: http://e-tasc.achilles.com/AboutETasc/Subscribers.aspx
Subscribers enter details of how their supply facilities manage and improve their performance against labour, social and ethical, environmental, and health and safety standards and share this information, confidentially through the online tool, with their customers.
By providing the information in standard format and sharing it multiple times with different customers, companies avoid the problem of questionnaire fatigue and focus on building capability and improving performance.
The leading practice within the E-TASC system is a factory that is sharing the same information with 7 different customers. The system now hosts companies from over 7 tiers of the ICT supply chain and subscribers from over 40 countries including: China, USA, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Philippines.
“E-TASC is starting to realise its potential as the industry standard tool for responsible and transparent supply chains." said Luis Neves Chair of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) who champion the tool, “we are pleased to see the industry agenda advance from initial adoption to real implementation and to see this encouraging data on utilisation starting to emerge.”
"The EICC, in conjunction with GeSI, considers E-TASC to be a strategic element of our mutual effort to enable social and environmental improvements in the ICT supply chain." said John Gabriel, Chairman of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC). "The EICC would like to recognize the 1,000 facilities with social responsibility data in the application. We are confident that planned enhancements will drive even further adoption by firms throughout the extended supply chain."
Achilles who manage the system offer full subscribers a free of charge service to educate and enrol their suppliers to the E-TASC tool, and to assist them in completing and sharing their online data with their customers. The widespread adoption of this new service by subscribers is also contributing to the rapid growth in utilisation of the tool.
E-TASC was first launched in June 2007 and implementation of the product in supply chains has grown rapidly in recent months, as buying organisations realise the benefits of inviting their suppliers into the system. E-TASC is available in English and Chinese languages.
About GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative)
The Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) is uniquely dedicated to information and communication technologies (ICT) sustainability through innovation. GeSI brings together leading ICT companies – including telecommunications service providers and manufacturers as well as industry associations – and non-governmental organisations committed to achieving sustainability objectives through innovative technology. In June 2008, GeSI became a legal independent entity, an international non-profit association (AISBL) with an office near the EU institutions in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, see www.gesi.org.
About EICC (Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition)
The EICC was established in 2004 to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions in the global electronic supply chain through use of a standardized code of conduct. The EICC was incorporated in 2007 as an association to ensure greater awareness of the code, and to expand its adoption across the industry. The EICC includes 40 global electronics companies. For more information or to view the EICC code of conduct, see www.eicc.info.
More information on E-TASC can be found at www.e-tasc.com
For further information, please contact:
Charlotte Vereker
Group Marketing
Tel: +44(0)1235 820813
Email: marketing@achilles.com
The Achilles Group, headquartered in the UK, identifies, qualifies, monitors and evaluates suppliers on behalf of major organisations worldwide. The company builds and supports buyer-supplier communities in many industry sectors, creating unique and powerful global networks. The Achilles Group’s services for sustainable procurement help create opportunities for business and reduce risk in the supply chain.