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Cisco Systems, HP, Microsoft & Intel to Develop Electronics Industry Code of Conduct

Cisco Systems Inc., HP, Microsoft and Intel Corporation today announced the formation of a new supply chain working group to develop integrated implementation plans for the recently announced Electronics Industry Code of Conduct (EICC). The code was recently developed to establish and promote unified industry expectations for socially responsible practices across the electronics industry's global supply chain. The new working group, facilitated by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), will develop common mechanisms and tools that will enable compliance with the Code. HP facilitated collaboration on the code between itself, Dell, IBM and electronics manufacturing companies Celestica, Flextronics, Jabil, Sanmina SCI, and Solectron. Released on Oct. 21, the code paves the way for a harmonized approach for monitoring suppliers' performance across several areas of social responsibility, including labor and employment practices, health and safety, ethics, and protection of the environment. The endorsement of the code by Cisco, Microsoft and Intel is recognition of the value of collaborating on a common set of expectations, and together with HP they seek to clarify and simplify approaches to implementation. By working together, these companies and others that join this initiative hope that their collective efforts will have greater impact on improvements in social and […]

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Boston Requires New Public Buildings to be Green

by Thomas C. Palmer Jr. Mayor Thomas M. Menino will require all new city government buildings to be "green" and will begin to push large private projects to be environmentally friendly as well. Trying to catch up with cities such as Seattle and Chicago, Boston officials are setting new rules and making promises they say will create a national model of urban environmental efficiency. More than a year ago, Menino created a Green Building Task Force, which has just issued its findings, calling for new building standards for major projects, training for city employees in green policies, and incentives for firms that adopt pro-environment strategies, such as working with utilities to improve air quality. "This report did put out a very high achievable standard for the city," said Mark Maloney, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. "But it was a consensus built from the real estate and environmental communities, and from residential and commercial developers." The 22-person panel found that buildings consume about 40 percent of all energy used in the nation, and the construction industry is the source of about 40 percent of the material in US landfills. The report suggested developing public awareness programs to encourage construction of […]

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Sanyo Launches Energy & Ecology Business in Europe

SANYO Electric Company Ltd is launching a new Energy & Ecology Business in Europe, with an investment of 150 million euros by 2006. The company expects the European market for environmentally-friendly products to grow dramatically, driven by support for `Feed-In Tariffs' also known as the `buy-back programme'. SANYO says its Energy & Ecology products are based on the company's advanced proprietary technology and are intended to lessen the burden on the environment, with the concept of `harmony' at their core. The products include rechargeable batteries, solar energy systems, air conditioning equipment, fuel cells, water processing systems, and heat pump water heaters. The company is also expanding its production facility near Budapest – which is already Europe's largest lithium-ion rechargeable battery production factory employing over 1500 people. An immediate investment of over 20 million euros will expand it by a further 10,000 m2, and the facility will become one of Europe's largest photovoltaic module and air conditioning production facilities. The factory will be in full-scale operation by October 2005 rising to a production capacity of 120,000 units a year by September 2006. Mr Hiromoto Sekino, Senior Officer & Director of the Board of SANYO Electric Co. Ltd and COO of International […]

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