Vtech 2016 Annual Report Download - page 28

Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is the process through which we
stay connected with our customers, employees, shareholders,
investors, suppliers and the wider communities in which
we operate. We believe that the approach of stakeholder
engagement is integral to the development of our
sustainability strategy, and is also a pre-requisite for our long-
term sustainable growth.
During the engagement process, our Sustainability
Sub-Committees identified the broad topics that the
stakeholder groups are concerned with, and used a
materiality matrix to assess the material issues identified by
our stakeholders during the engagement process. An issue is
classified as “material” when it substantially affects our long-
term commercial or operational viability, with material impacts
from economic, environmental or social aspects. This matrix
combines VTech’s approach to identifying and assessing the
material concerns of our stakeholders, and our own materiality
scoring methodology by following the principles outlined in
GRI G4 Guidelines.
Sustainability Strategies and Activities
Product Responsibility & Innovation
VTech strives not only to provide high quality
products and comply with the highest
international and local quality and safety
standards, but also incorporate sustainability concepts into
product design in order to enhance the well-being of our
customers and benefit the society.
Addressing our customers’ needs is our primary responsibility
in the stage of product design. We continuously use our
technological expertise to help improve the health and safety
of our customers, which is our number one objective. Our
baby monitor series and wireless monitoring system with Ultra-
Low-Energy (ULE) standard are the principal examples. VTech
also uses its global leadership position in electronic learning
products to develop high-quality and innovative educational
products that inspire children’s creativity through fun and
smart play. In order to stay in harmony with the environment,
we also incorporate the eco-design principles into our products
and launch many eco-friendly products. For examples, we have
Digital European Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) cordless
phones with Blue Angel eco-label, the new level VI power
adaptor with Energy Star eco-label, and energy monitoring
device manufactured by our VTech CMS.
VTech is also committed to designing and manufacturing
products that meet the highest international and local health
and safety standards. All our manufacturing facilities are
certified with Quality Management System: ISO 9001. We have
implemented a stringent quality control system, from incoming
materials inspection, in-process quality audit, finished goods
quality assessment, to after-sales management to ensure that
our products meet the required specifications and are free from
defects at the time of delivery.
Our products are also designed to minimise the environmental
impact throughout the whole product life cycle from cradle
to grave. We continue to use the most eco-friendly materials
in our products and minimise the usage of resources and
materials in the manufacturing process.
Environmental Protection
VTech aims to operate its manufacturing
processes and facilities in a manner that
minimises the impacts to the environment,
and ensure that our operations are compliant with all the
relevant environmental, legal and statutory requirements.
By implementing the high performance production chain,
we have improved our resources efficiency and productivity
while maintaining our green manufacturing practice. Through
the adoption of a green logistic management approach,
and choosing the most eco-friendly transportation mode for
delivering our incoming materials from suppliers and outgoing
products to our customers, we have also further reduced our
Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
Two key principles – “produce for quality” and “produce for
efficiency” – are the main drivers for our manufacturing process
improvement. We have been implementing the low cost
automation and lean manufacturing management to maximise
our resources utilisation and improve our productivity without
compromising the quality of our products, while aiming to
reduce the potential environmental impacts throughout the
manufacturing process.
24 VTech Holdings Limited Annual Report 2016
Sustainability