Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1484263
NOVEMBER 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 87 Especially last year, the price went up which led to a lot of redesigns because of price or because of a component shortage: "I'm miss- ing this component, I'll do a redesign." When this happens I don't have a specific rule, but I know it happens on a daily basis. Every week, I have a meeting where I discuss this specific topic with the FAE people. I know they are going to tell us that we have, for instance, this very nice project for the automotive industry that's going to ramp up in five years, with huge volumes for electric cars. Johnson: Let's talk about corporate social responsibility. Martin: CSR is extremely important because it's a common topic and the customers really care about it. Our partners have to sign an ethics contract, and they have to comply with envi- ronmental requirements. We have an extremely strong commitment to CSR and our CSR manager reports directly to the CEO. Last year, we started doing CSR audits. We have a second audit model that gives us an idea of the company's impact on the world. We have two rankings: quality and CSR. All the AVL partners are ranked and have a score. Johnson: Do you see improvement in your KPIs in your business operations from pursu- ing sustainability? Some are of the opinion we should do CSR even if it's just the cost of doing business. Martin: Let's say that there is always room for improvement. It's a matter of development because in a country which is already devel- oped like the U.S. or France, you have time to spend on these topics. But in other countries, they will get there; maybe not as fast but they will get there.