Vtech 2012 Annual Report Download - page 26

VTech’s goal is to bring high quality, innovative products
to consumers around the world, to enhance their lives. We
aim to do this in a way that respects the environment, and
hence take steps throughout our product life cycles to reduce
environmental impacts from our operations.
Procurement
Environment
R & D
Facilities
Design
Product Planning
Environmental management of the
product life cycle begins with design
and planning. When developing and
designing a new product, or upgrading
an existing one, we think not only
about its commercial potential, but its
environmental profile.
Our engineers and product designers are
therefore tasked with making our products
more environmentally friendly. Through
innovative design, we strive to reduce the
number of components and use more
efficient materials, making each new
generation of VTech products more energy
efficient while lowering costs.
Our products comply with the strictest
international safety and environmental
regulations. For example, all TEL products
and ELPs sold in the US and Europe are
RoHS (Restrictions on the use of Hazardous
Substances) compliant, while all TEL
products and ELPs sold in Europe comply
with REACH (Regulation on Registration,
Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of
Chemicals).
We also strive to achieve environmental
standards that go beyond statutory
regulation. All VTech 2011 DECT cordless
phones delivered to the US have the
Energy Star® certification, meaning they
use less energy than conventional units
when charging. In Europe and some
markets in Asia Pacific, an increasing
number of VTech’s cordless phones include
an “Eco Mode” function, which reduces
power consumption.
Manufacturing
Responsible manufacturing is the second
stage in the cycle and at each step of the
process at our plants in Dongguan and
Qingyuan in China’s Guangdong Province,
we take care to manage our operations
from an environmental point of view.
In sourcing materials and components,
VTech takes care to use only responsible
suppliers and we work with them to
reduce environmental impacts in their
operations. All suppliers to our TEL and ELP
operations are required to sign a supplier
CSR agreement, specifying CSR related
conditions they must abide by. The CMS
operation also uses supplier agreements,
or in some cases requires suppliers to sign
codes of conduct. The Group carries out
annual audits of key suppliers.
We adopt environmentally appropriate
best practices and meet international
standards in the manufacture of our TEL
products and ELPs. We also work with our
CMS customers to reduce product size,
eliminate toxic materials and increase
recyclability. Stringent internationally
benchmarked procedures are in place to
handle hazardous materials.
The manufacturing facilities of our TEL
products are ISO14001 certified, and have
been awarded “Hong Kong – Guangdong
Cleaner Production Partners” status, under
the scheme jointly launched by the
HKSAR Government and the Guangdong
Provincial Government. This is in addition
to recognition as a “Cleaner Production
Enterprise in Guangdong Province” from
the Guangdong Provincial Government,
“Cleaner Production Enterprise in
Dongguan City” from the Dongguan
24 VTech Holdings Ltd Annual Report 2012
Corporate Social Responsibility