Vtech 2013 Annual Report Download - page 26

24 VTech Holdings Ltd Annual Report 2013
Sustainability
• Toreducetheuseofhazardouschemicalsinour
manufacturing operation, we continually work with our
suppliers to source alternate materials with quality and
performance standards of at least the same levels. Stringent
internationally benchmarked procedures for storing,
handling and disposal of hazardous substances are also
adopted in our manufacturing facilities. For the collection
and disposal of hazardous waste, we also have approval
procedure in place to ensure that it is only carried out by
the government-certified agencies to mitigate the risk of
leakage during the process.
• Inordertoreducethechemicaluseduringthespraypainting
process, we have adopted new technology in the machinery
which helps us to reduce the paint consumption.
• Toreducethesolderconsumptioninthemanufacturing
operation, we have recycling machine and procedure
in place to ensure that the practice of “reduce, reuse
and recycle” is fully executed throughout the whole
manufacturing process.
The manufacturing facilities of our TEL products and CMS meet
the international standards on environmental management,
social accountability, occupational health and safety, and
quality management with the following certifications:
• EnvironmentalmanagementSystem:ISO14001
• SocialAccountability:SA8000
• OccupationalHealthandSafetySystem:OHSAS18001
• QualityManagementSystem:ISO9001/TL9000forTEL
productsandISO9001forCMS
OurELPmanufacturingoperationsalsocomplywiththe
International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) CARE (Caring,
Awareness, Responsible, Ethical) Process with ICTI certification.
Its quality management system is also qualified with
ISO9001certification.
These certifications help us to ensure that we are continuously
improving our operations and environmental management
practices, and we also have the capability to mitigate our
environmental risks on an on-going basis.
In addition to following the international environmental
standards, the factory of our TEL products also worked with
different government bodies to make contributions to the
environmental protection. For example:
• Itwasawardedwith“HongKong–GuangdongCleaner
Production Partners” under the scheme jointly launched by
the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Guangdong
Provincial Government in 2012.
• Itwasrecognisedasa“CleanerProductionEnterprisein
Guangdong Province” from the Guangdong Provincial
Government and “Cleaner Production Enterprise
in Dongguan City” from the Dongguan Municipal
Government.
• Itparticipatedinthe“12thFive-YearEnergySavingPlan”of
the Dongguan Municipal Government.
Distribution – we deliver our products in an
energy-efficient manner
As our major markets are in Europe and North America, most of
our products require long distance transportation. It is crucial
for us to manage our shipping orders in an energy efficient
manner in order to reduce transportation costs and minimise
the associated environmental impacts.
We maximise the volume per container and for each shipment
through optimising our incoming (raw materials) and outgoing
(products) shipment schedules. We also work closely with our
customers to consolidate and combine shipping orders, which
helps reduce the frequency of shipments and the associated
environmental impacts such as carbon emissions.
For our European operations, the logistic hub in Netherlands
which is managed by our major logistic services provider, helps
us to consolidate shipping volume and increase the filling rate
of each truck for the goods delivery within Continental Europe.
The increase in load efficiency and joint deliveries directly
reduces the environmental impacts of our transportation.
Sea shipment is our primary mode of transport for long
distance transportation. We also continually shift the goods
delivery from truck to rail freight as it is more cost efficient and
with lower environmental impacts.
In our evaluation process on shipping carriers, we also consider
whether the service providers could demonstrate their efforts
and achievements in reducing environmental impacts and with
programs in place such as improving energy efficiency and
using cleaner fuel for shipments.
Recycling – we aim to reduce the impact on
the environment
In order to minimise the impact on the environment and save
material cost, our products are designed to avoid unnecessary
packaging. We continuously review the packaging design of
our products and aim to reduce their size and use recycled
materials wherever possible.
vtech.indb 24 13年5月29日 上午3:19