NEW REPORT:

Impacts and Insights

Progress report – year one IT industry sustainability impacts of new generation TCO Certified

Through independent certification, community engagement and industry insight, TCO Certified has continued to drive sustainability improvements in the IT industry in 2016. As part of our regular three year criteria development cycle, measuring the impact of TCO Certified is an important step in this process.

This progress report outlines some key findings from year one of the new generation TCO Certified, launched at the end of 2015. Findings are based on post certification verification rounds carried out during 2016, to assess IT product, factory and brand compliance with criteria for environmental and social responsibility.

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Key findings

Socially Responsible Manufacturing
  • Improved code of conduct compliance and corrective actions, especially when brand owners present collective demands to shared manufacturing sites
  • Persistent problems in fair wages and working hours, despite some progress
  • Greater brand owner engagement in conflict-minerals initiatives.
Hazardous chemicals
  • Only flame retardant chemicals that have been independently assessed and benchmarked as safer alternatives are used in certified products
  • Increased transparency through a public list of safer, accepted flame retardant chemical.
IT industry’s proactive work
  • Progress on code of conduct compliance and risk assessment
  • Brand owners need better knowledge of supply chain beyond second tier
  • More action needed to define and establish a living wage for factory workers

About TCO Certified

TCO Certified is the leading sustainability certification for IT products, helping organizations around the world make responsible product choices. For 30 years we have provided solutions for reducing risk and meeting sustainability challenges connected to electronics. TCO Certified includes life cycle criteria for environmental and social responsibility and is a Type 1 Ecolabel in accordance with ISO 14024. Independent verification of product, factory and brand owner compliance, both pre and post certification, is included.

Learn more about TCO Certified