In 2008 the Taiwan electronics sector engaged actively with the Carbon Disclosure Process (CDP) as detailed in ASrIA's report, CDP in Asia Ex-Japan, 2008 and at the Taiwan CDP launch event in October 2008.  Subsequent to this the Taiwan electronics company Acer arranged the Acer CSR Forum in December, to which it invited a range of foreign stakeholders and representatives of leading NGO's to present and engage with the senior management of Acer as well as other representatives from the Taiwan electronics industry.  The event clearly demonstrated that Acer and other members of the industry do recognise that CSR encapsulates a range of material risks and responsibilities that the industry does need to address, both in terms of survival and future industry growth.   It was also noted in a range of presentations, that the extended supply chain operations of the electronics industry do present very critical challenges, from such as climate change, green procurement and human rights related issues, which demand sustained management focus and leadership.  It was also noted that the electronics industry is responsible for a rapidly growing carbon footprint, due to rapid growth in the industry (currently as large if not larger than the global airlines industry footprint), but that the electronics industry is also a key solutions provider and critical to enable the transition by a range of other industries towards a low carbon economy.

ASrIA, along with CDP, Greenpeace and the labour rights organisation SOMO were among the participating organisations.  Industry groups included the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), which manages the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct, and Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI).  Sony, Foxconn and Delta also participated.  BCSD
Taiwan jointly organized the event with Acer.

At the event, the Chairman and Acer Group CEO, J.T. Wang, delivered a strong challenge to the industry, making it clear that if Acer suppliers wanted to maintain and develop future relationships with Acer they must respond actively to these challenges.   In order to emphasise the long-term commitment to focusing on CSR related issues, J.T. Wang committed to run the forum every year for the coming five years.

A clear takeaway from the conference was therefore that the Taiwan electronics sector is coming to recognise that it is confronted by huge CSR related challenges, both in its backyard (it received critisism of greenwash from local environmental groups who complained of not being invited and engaged in the process alongside the global NGO's) and in the supply chain and global markets, but that it also has the potential to act as a major lever for change across a wide section of other industry sectors and drive the innovation necessary to enable a shift towards both a more just and carbon friendly future global economy.   Now that it has actively and publically enaged with the process, it will be interesting to follow the progress of the sector over the coming few years in responding to these issues.

It is also notable that initiatives such as the CDP process and the EICC provide practical mechanisms for the industry to engage with the issues, develop expertise, set management targets also improve confidence with the process of disclosure and engagement with stakeholders such as investors and market regulators.  This is an area which ASrIA will continue to focus on via our engagement with the CDP process in Asia.

Acer CSR Forum (includes links to presentation files)
http://www.bcsd.org.tw/1217_acer_CSR_forum_Homepage.htm