Weekly Bulletin

January 22, 2013

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Events and Deadlines

Mar. 18-21: EICC Membership Meeting in Taipei.

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by 5 PM EST on Fridays.

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2013 Membership Meeting: Mar. 18-21

Register Now

 

Register early for the EICC Winter Membership Meeting.  The meeting will be hosted by Acer on March 18-21 at the Regent Taipei Hotel in Taipei.  Register here.
 
Read This Important Information
  • Travel Visa: Some EICC members will require a visa to enter Taiwan. Contact Arno.Peng@acer.com to obtain an invitation letter from Acer that you will require for your visa application. Plan ahead--the visa process can take up to 2 months.  Requests to Acer must be received by Jan. 31
  • Hotels: Discount rates are available for EICC members until March 1 at the Regent Taipei Hotel (meeting site) and until Feb. 18 at the Ambassador Hotel (walking distance to the meeting). Click on either link to register early--space at both hotels is very limited.  Discounts will not be honored after the deadlines.
  • Agenda: A draft agenda is available here.
The meeting will include opportunities to learn about the association's key initiatives, participate in work group meetings, and participate in a stakeholder event.  The meeting will conclude on March 21 so that EICC members may attend the annual Acer CSR conference on March 22.
 
Contact Brad Cameron for more information.

March 21 Stakeholder Session: Use of Student and Young Workers Through the Lens of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

 

The EICC Winter Membership Meeting will include a stakeholder session on the use of student and young workers through the viewpoint of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The March 21 session will provide a refresher on the Principles and how they relate to the EICC, information on how the UNGPs are viewed in Asia and the implications of their implementation, and practical examples that address the use of student and young workers, as well as how this intersects with the Guiding Principles.  


Help Plan This Session

 

EICC members are encouraged to help plan the session.  Contact Wendy Dittmer to help or for more information. 

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Provide Feedback on ICT Sector Guidance

 

The EU is developing guidance for the ICT sector on implementing the UN Guiding Principles, as discussed at the EICC membership meeting in July.  The guidance is intended to be practical and useful, and the guidance document is designed to help companies show that they respect human rights throughout their activities and business relationships.
 
The draft ICT-sector guidance document is available for public comment until February 13.  It covers information on policy commitments and embedding respect into policy documents, human rights due diligence activities (assessing impacts, integrating due diligence measures, tracking systems, and communicating results), and grievance mechanisms.  Information on the draft guidance and process for submitting feedback is available here.

L&CB Work Group Announces 2013 Training Sessions: Host Companies Needed

 

The L&CB work group will sponsor two health & safety training sessions and three worker-management communications training sessions in 2013.  Host companies are needed! 

Health & Safety Training (HST)
HST sessions will be presented by Underwriters Laboratories Specialized Technology Resources (ULSTR).  Member companies or suppliers are needed to host the 6-hour sessions in Q2 and Q3 of 2013.  One session will be held in Shenzhen and presented in Mandarin.  EICC members may help determine the location for the second session by clicking here.

Host requirements include:
  • Facility large enough to hold 60 - 80 people
  • Tea breaks and lunch.  If needed EICC and GeSI will provide assistance
  • Provide tables and chairs for classroom style seating
  • Provide flipcharts with markers for each table and for the trainers
  • Provide water at each table
  • Provide LCD projector
  • Provide screen
  • Provide microphone for trainer, and wireless microphone for podium
Worker Management Communication (WMC)
EICC and GeSI will sponsor three WMC training sessions in 2013 presented by INFACT.  The first session will be hosted by Flextronics in Dongguan in March 2013.   Two Mandarin sessions will be planned in China (Shanghai and Shenzhen) and one will be planned in an English speaking country in Southeast Asia.  The work group needs member companies or suppliers to host a 2-½ day session in Q2 or Q3 of 2013.  Click here to submit a proposed English speaking country.

Host requirements include:
  • Facility large enough to hold 30-40 people
  • Tea breaks and lunch.  If needed EICC and GeSI will provide assistance
  • Provide tables and chairs for round table seating
  • Provide flipcharts with markers for each table and for the trainers
  • Provide water at each table
  • Provide LCD projector
  • Provide screen
  • Provide microphone for trainer, and wireless microphone for podium
Contact Christina Dobbs or Jannie Bailey if you or your suppliers can host a session in 2013, or for more information.

EICC-On and SAQ Updates: 

 

EICC-ON Renewal Time for Non-Member Suppliers

Please encourage your non-Member suppliers to renew their EICC-ON subscription.  This is the only way to avoid issues when you need them to complete SAQs and manage audits online (new since Q4'12!). 

Suppliers received several notices in Q4'12 that the $250 facility charge for 2013 is due now (only 20% have responded).  Suppliers that have not paid are given "read-only" access, so cannot start or finish an SAQ. This means customers will not be able to receive any new or updated SAQs from them, and they will not be able to set up new trading relationships.  Keep in mind that no savings is provided to existing suppliers that wait to renew (they will owe for the entire year even if they sign up mid-year).

 

SAQ Enhancement Team Needs You!
Sub-teams sponsored by the Tools Management and VAP OMT groups are about one-third of the way through their review of the SAQ.  The work group is working to reduce the size of the SAQ to only include critical questions, eliminate duplication, improve system performance, and link the SAQ more closely to the VAP audit protocol. 

Positions remain available on the Content sub-team, which will work on the Corp SAQ, the EHS sections (FH1-13), and refinements to the scoring impacts in Excel.  

Contact  Mike McDonnell or Martin van Drunen if you or someone in your company has an interest or skills in these areas.  The work group appreciates all assistance and input relating to this foundational EICC tool.

Need Help?

Contact AMS staff at 202-962-0167


Executive Director: Rob Lederer

Programs: Brad Cameron
Operations: John Flatley
Member Services: Carrie Hoffman
CFS Program Manager: Grant Feichtinger
Membership & Work Group Coordinator: Christina Dobbs 

Membership Compliance: Anne Vogel-Marr

EICC-ON Support: eicc-onhelp@eicc.info

External Communications: Wendy Dittmer (P. 512-934-8922)