Board Action

The Board took the following action this week:

• Membership: Reviewed an outline for the new membership compliance program. The program will provide members with updated membership requirements and is planned for implementation in 2010. The plan will be ready for distribution to the membership in a few weeks.
• Budget: Reviewed plans for the 2010 budget process. Board members will work with work groups under their jurisdiction to identify needs for next year. The information will be used to prioritize the association's initiatives and establish funding levels.

Working Hours Analysis Tool: Supplier Needed

The Working Hours Task Force is developing a tool to identify the root causes of excessive working hours. The "Root Cause Analysis" tool will help suppliers understand and address working hours issues. The task force is conducting a pilot effort with suppliers to gather information about working hours and to evaluate the effectiveness of the tool before it is made available to EICC members in February 2010.

The task force must identify an additional EICC member supplier to participate in the pilot. The supplier must meet the following criteria:

• Willing to work with the task force for six months to share internal information about working hours, including data from manufacturing operations.
• Willing to conduct root cause analysis on instances of excessive working hours.
• Committed to addressing working hours challenges, including through dedication of specific personnel to address the issue.

All data gathered during the pilot will be strictly confidential and held by BSR. Contact Lesley St. Pierre or Julia Nelson by Friday, October 30 to participate.

Asia Program: Committee Registration Form

The Asia program will include committees to increase awareness and adoption of the EICC code of conduct. Asia-based personnel of EICC members are encouraged to join one of the following committees:

• Outreach Committee-to raise awareness of EICC and the code of conduct.
• Certification Committee-to help implement the new program when it is completed.
• Capability Building Committee-to help suppliers improve CSR performance.

A membership form is provided here. Completed forms should be provided to AMS by Nov. 5, 2009. Contact Brad Cameron for more information.

"Conflict" Minerals: Update

EICC members participated in a forum on Oct. 21 to discuss a multi-industry approach to removing "conflict" minerals from global supply chains. The forum was held in San Francisco and included NGOs and a representative from the automotive sector.

EICC and GeSI will also sponsor a workshop on Nov. 17 in Redmond, WA for tantalum suppliers. The workshop will focus on an industry approach to trace minerals through the supply chain. Contact Grant Feichtinger to register for the workshop.