Philips 2009 Annual Report Download - page 50

3 Our planet, our partners, our people 3.4 - 3.4
50 Philips Annual Report 2009
Working with stakeholders
We seek constructive dialogue and the
opportunity to engage with stakeholders
in the supply chain and beyond.
This work is done in close cooperation with our suppliers, in bilateral meetings
with investors and NGOs, and via projects with the Electronic Industry
Citizenship Coalition (EICC). We also believe that cooperation with local
governments is the way to truly achieve sustainable change.
Integrating new suppliers
With the acquisition of Partners in Lighting, 140 new suppliers were added to
the Philips Supplier Sustainability Involvement Program. “To determine our
audit schedule we built a plan around two priority axes – supplier size and
commodity profile because some industries have more difficult working
conditions than others,” explained Geert Tuytens, Chief Operations Officer,
Philips Consumer Luminaires.
Frameway Glass in Guangdong China is a large Philips supplier and, as a glass
factory, it faces safety challenges. “It was the first time we experienced an EICC
audit” said Ryan Law, Project Engineer, Frameway Industries Limited. “We
learned a lot about how we can improve our internal systems on labor,
environment and safety. Our factory is now a safer, cleaner, more comfortable
place to work for our 350 employees.”
Listening to investors
The Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO)
awarded Philips with top sustainability scores in its 2009 Responsible Supply
Chain Management Benchmark, ranking the company highest among the 40
large publicly listed Dutch companies benchmarked. Our scores have improved
over the benchmark’s four years, reaching 90% in 2009, up substantially from
62% in 2006, 77% in 2007 and 85% in 2008.
“This is quite a performance, as Philips managed to even further improve their
already high score,” said Giuseppe van der Helm, Executive Director VBDO.
Asked how the company could build on this momentum, the VBDO’s
recommendations include rolling out similar auditing processes for second-tier
suppliers, enhancing recycling possibilities in cooperation with suppliers, and
improving energy efficiency in the supply chain.