Social responsibility – a challenge in the IT product supply chain

Ensuring responsible supply chain practices is a persistent challenge in the IT industry. Excessive overtime, health and safety risks, and forced labor are examples of issues that need to be addressed. A systematic approach is necessary to drive change and safeguard the well-being of workers.

Thousands of people are involved in the production of computers, phones and other IT products, from the miners who dig up the minerals used in electronic components all the way to the workers in the final assembly factories. The supply chains are complex and often employ workers in countries where the labor market lacks clear regulation, or legislated labor rights are not enforced. This results in poor working conditions where human health and lives are at risk. Workers face various difficulties and injustices, such as forced labor, lack of freedom of association, health and safety risks, and the inability to earn a living wage without agreeing to excessive overtime.

Further up the supply chain, the mineral industry is linked to armed conflicts, human rights abuses, child labor, severe health problems for workers, and environmental degradation. Bribery is a risk present in many industries, and the IT supply chain is no exception. It is crucial to counteract bribery as it hinders development, erodes justice, undermines human rights, and interferes with the fair and efficient operation of markets.

Focus areas for social responsibility

Labor law violations

When wages are too low, and local authorities and employers fail to enforce working hour boundaries, workers are pressured to work excessive overtime in order to earn a living wage. This leads to health problems including stress, fatigue and risk of injury. Other labor rights violations include young workers being put in dangerous situations, unclear employment contracts, harassment and discrimination.

Forced labor

Work without voluntary agreement is forced labor. This includes work carried out to avoid punishment, physical or sexual violence, or confiscation of belongings such as ID papers or passports. Migrants, students and temporary workers are particularly vulnerable and more often subject to discrimination and unfair terms of employment.

Health and safety risks

The work environment can sometimes risk workers’ health and life. For example, machines used in manufacturing may be dangerous to operate, and workers may not be trained to operate them, or lack protective equipment. Workers may come in contact with hazardous substances. Another risk is when emergency exits are blocked, or too few.

Freedom of association

In some countries, the right to form unions and bargain collectively with employers is restricted by law, which increases the risk that workers’ rights are violated. Employers need to offer other ways for workers to freely and democratically elect representatives who can defend the rights and interests of workers. They should also support suppliers in facilitating open communication between management and employees.

Gaining influence in the complex supply chain

When comparing product supply chains, the IT industry exceeds all others. Production is a step-by-step process: from mines and oil fields to smelters where raw materials are refined, to the production of materials such as plastics, that are in turn supplied to component manufacturers. Finally, the components are assembled into the final product in one or several final assembly factories. A single computer or smartphone can contain thousands of components, and the network of subcontractors providing these components and raw materials includes many companies on several continents.

This complexity creates challenges for those who want to drive social responsibility. It is almost impossible for a purchasing organization to trace a product’s origin or monitor the conditions under which it’s made. Gaining insight into these issues requires specialist expertise, resources and access.

Long-term, systematic work brings change

Driving social supply chain responsibility in the IT industry requires extensive effort on multiple levels. Clear and relevant criteria need to be set, which are sharper than the legislation. It is beneficial if many people make the same requirements so that IT brands and factory management can concentrate their efforts and avoid introducing conflicting measures.

When requesting change, independent verification of compliance is always needed. For social sustainability, this means carrying out regular high-standard audits. During audits, issues are often found and it is vital to establish corrective action plans that can be implemented quickly and credibly. Follow-up of the plans and clear consequences for deviations are necessary to ensure that progress is made.

Some issues are easy to detect and solve but tend to reoccur. Others are more complex and require greater focus and effort. In both cases, systematic work and an ongoing dialog with the responsible IT brand are essential to anticipate emerging risks and support positive, lasting change at the factory level and further up the supply chain.

Three pillars in TCO Certified ensure social progress

Social sustainability has been part of TCO Certified since 2009. Criteria, verification methods, and industry dialog create a framework that drives continuous improvement of working conditions in the IT industry’s supply chain.

PILLAR 1

Comprehensive and up-to-date criteria

The social criteria in TCO Certified are comprehensive and go beyond legislation and industry standards to challenge the IT industry and drive progress. Meeting all criteria is mandatory for product certification.

  • Manufacturing must comply with the ILO core conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national laws for worker rights, health and safety, minimum wage, and social security.
  • The brand owner must be transparent about their major next-tier supplier and how they and the final assembly factory ensure that suppliers follow the code of conduct.
  • The brand owner must have an anti-bribery management system in place, that is independently verified to align with ISO 37001. This helps them organize their efforts against corruption.
  • To promote higher wages and improve worker well-being while reducing the risk of forced overtime, the maximum working week must be 60 hours, including overtime, regardless of local laws. Additionally, employees must be given one day off every seven consecutive days.
  • All factories producing certified products must undergo independent audits at least once every three years. High-risk factories are audited more frequently than low and medium-risk factories. Non-compliances must be resolved, otherwise factories may lose their right to produce certified products.
  • We allow brand owners to access the latest audit findings and corrective action progress reports. This enables them to choose factories that prioritize sustainability.
  • Brand owners must ensure that their suppliers have a health and safety management system in place that continuously monitors and improves practices in the factories. The system should be aligned with ISO 45001.
  • TCO Certified includes criteria for responsible sourcing of minerals, covering all countries where conflict minerals are extracted. Our goal is to support the development of a legitimate mining industry that benefits the people whose livelihoods depend on it.
  • Cleaning substances used in production must be independently assessed and proven to be safer, and listed on TCO Certified Accepted Substance List.
  • TCO Certified also supports a positive development of social responsibility by gathering and sharing best practice examples that the industry can learn from.
PILLAR 2

Independent verification and follow-up

Accredited experts independently verify compliance with all criteria. Every year, they spend more than 20,000 hours on product testing and supply chain assessments to ensure that products and factories meet all criteria in TCO Certified.

  • Finding sustainability issues is only the first step on the way to more sustainable practices. We ensure progress by holding the industry accountable for also solving the issues.
  • TCO Certified includes a structured system for continuous improvements and guides the industry to more sustainable ways of working.
  • Corrective action plans must be developed and implemented within a set timeframe.
  • Non-compliance is met with real consequences — certificates can be removed and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.
  • Factories are categorized according to risk, allowing brand owners to choose factories by sustainability risk level. Ambitious factories get more business, incentivizing sustainability.
PILLAR 3

Industry dialog

Brand owners must demonstrate proactive engagement with social sustainability in annual assessments and interviews with an independent verifier.

  • The annual assessment process involves a questionnaire, supporting documentation to validate the provided information and an interview with an independent social verifier.
  • The purpose of the questionnaire and interview is to help brand owners anticipate emerging risks and support their suppliers in addressing them.
  • Once anonymized, we share the results with participating brand owners in a yearly report to help them gain new insights and move in the right direction faster.
  • Insights from the annual assessment process also help us develop new criteria with maximum relevance and impact.