Vtech 2013 Annual Report Download - page 30

28 VTech Holdings Ltd Annual Report 2013
Sustainability
We also work proactively with our customers, certified
laboratories and professional consultants to get the advance
information on the latest standards in each specific country and
prepare for the changeover in the product design and materials
use before the execution of the regulation.
Examples of the international safety standards are as follows:
• AllourTELproductscomplywiththestandardsofUL60950
for US market and EN60950 for European countries. We
also have certifications from CCC (China Compulsory
Certification) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories).
• AllourELPsarecompliantwiththelatestandthehighest
levels of US and European toy safety standards. They
include ASTM F963-11 (Standard Consumer Safety
Specification for Toy Safety), CPSIA (Consumer Products
Safety Improvement Act), EN71 (European Standard –
SafetyforToys),andISO8124(SafetyofToys).
• OurCMScomplywiththeinternationalsafetystandards
specified in the relevant country in the respective product
areas. We have certifications from CCC (China Compulsory
Certification), UL (Underwriters Laboratories), KTL (Korea
Testing Laboratory), KETI (Korea Electronics Technology
Institute)andCSA(CanadianStandardsAssociation).Our
CMS manufacturing operations and facilities for medical
andautomotiveproductsarealsocertifiedwithISO/
TS16949&ISO13485standards.
Supply Chain Management
VTech is committed to trading fairly and ensuring everyone in
our supply chain is treated with honesty, fairness and respect.
Ethical sourcing and responsible supply chain management
is critical to our procurement decisions. We work closely
with our approved suppliers, encouraging them to support
our key Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives
through adoption and implementation of sustainable
business practices.
Under our suppliers selection and evaluation process, in
addition to the quality and safety standards that they need
to achieve in accordance with our specifications, all major
suppliers especially the outsourced vendors for the Group’s
manufacturing operations are required to sign a supplier CSR
agreement with specified CSR related conditions with which
they must comply. Annual quality and CSR audits are also
carried out at the premises of our key suppliers. Following the
due diligence process, if there are any high risk areas identified
in the suppliers’ factories, they are required to provide
corrective actions with implementation schedule in order to
eliminate the identified deficiencies. We also provide training
to suppliers on continuous improvement processes to facilitate
their implementation of the corrective actions.
Code of Conduct
OurCodeofConductisanimportantpartoftheGroup’s
operating practices and a key component of our corporate
governance framework. It provides the guiding principles for
our employees to do what is right and behave with integrity
andhonesty.OurCodeofConductalsorequiresouremployees
to have stringent obligations as to how they deal with the
issues including ethics and business integrity, conflicts of
interest, bribery and compliance with company policies,
practices, accounting standards and internal controls.
With the business environment evolving constantly, we
assess our Code of Conduct on a regular basis to ensure that
it reflects global best practices and meets the expectations of
all stakeholders. Management also has the responsibility to
ensure that their employees have adequate anti-corruption
awareness and controls in their responsible areas. Anti-
corruption and internal control trainings are also provided for
our employees on regular basis to reinforce their awareness
and understanding of our Code of Conduct.
We also have Whistleblowing Policy in place to encourage
and assist whistleblowers to disclose information relevant
to the misconducts, malpractices or irregularities through a
confidential reporting channel. All the reported cases will be
handled by the company with care and the whistleblower’s
concerns will be investigated in a fair and proper manner. All
reports under the Whistleblowing Policy are reviewed by the
Group’s Audit Committee semi-annually.
COMMUNITY
INVESTMENT
As a responsible company, VTech uses its skills and resources
to support the communities in which it operates in a variety of
ways, focusing on innovation, helping children and the elderly,
as well as general corporate philanthropy.
Innovation
As in previous years, VTech sponsored the Hong Kong Business
of Design Week and Hong Kong Awards for Industry in 2012, to
encourage innovation in our home region.
vtech.indb 28 13年5月29日 上午3:19